Sleepless in Trenton
by Mcshnee
Summary: COMPLETE! Post TBO. Steph's been having problems sleeping, as nightmares from the Slayer incident have been plaguing her.
1. Default Chapter

_I know what you're thinking, 'Seriously? She's starting ANOTHER one?' Tell me about it. But it just won't leave me alone. So…sigh This one's going to be different to my normal, I think this is going to be more personality/relationship stuff rather than having a psycho etc - but I could be wrong, I never know with my muse. Anyway, sorry to inflict this on you. Standard disclaimer applies: not my characters yadda yadda yadda. **Massive TBO spoilers**! Introducing…_

**Sleepless in Trenton**

Prologue 

Who knew eyelids could be so heavy? Right this minute I would put my hand on the bible and swear black and blue that somehow my eyelids weighed more than a grand piano.

It's been one week since the Slayer mess, one long agonising week. I'm doing denial as best as I can, but I think I'm only fooling everyone else; I've long since passed the point where I can fool myself. I protest to the whole world and his dog that I'm fine, but I know I'm not, and the only person who could see through my practised façade is on a hiatus. Or a secret government mission, you never know with Batman.

Maybe I should explain. My name's Stephanie Plum, and I'm a bond enforcement agent, which is sometimes referred to as a bounty hunter. I always get my man, dead or alive – though personally I hate dead. Dead's not so fun, but despite my natural inclination to say 'yick' to dead bodies, dead bodies keep finding me – not in a zombie way, in a stumbling-across-a-crime-scene way.

Which neatly leads us to Joseph Morelli, vice cop and my sometimes-boyfriend. Joe found his way into my life, and my pants, when I was eight – he called it choo-choo. A few years later he got into my pants again, but this time there was no choo-choo…this time there was a cherry. He popped mine, and ran off and joined the navy, but not before he wrote all about the cherry popping on the wall in the Men's toilets in Mario's sub. Five years later, I ran Morelli over with my car; I broke his leg.

So now you're wondering how he ever became my sometimes-boyfriend. The truth is, I don't really know. I ran into Morelli again when I blackmailed my perverted cousin for a job at his bail bonds agency; Morelli was my first skip, or Failed To Appear (FTA) in bounty hunter lingo. He was on the run from a murder charge, and it was my job to haul his fine ass in.

Enter Batman. Batman is Ricardo Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger. Ranger's 6ft tall, and all of it is solid muscle. His skin is the colour of mocha latte and one kiss from him can melt your bones into a puddle of mush. I met Ranger in a dank café, where he agreed to be my Professor Higgins and teach me how to be a bounty hunter. Ranger used to be in the Rangers, and I'll never be as good as him. And he's partly the reason why Morelli's only a _sometimes_-boyfriend.

Morelli is movie star handsome, the type of man women stare at as they walk across the street. Joe has an eagle tattoo on his toned chest, a scar through his eyebrow, and a swagger in his walk. He has a few minor faults, but one of them is pretty major. See, Joe wants me to change. Now don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against change par se; I like it when spring _changes_ to summer, and I don't mind it when summer _changes_ to fall – that counts as liking change, right? But I don't like it when what he wants to change is me.

I'm not claiming to be perfect; there are probably things that I really should change about myself, like going to Church more or eating fewer donuts. But the point is, Joe's supposed to love me, unconditionally love me, he shouldn't want me to change. He should love me the way I am.

Unfortunately, the way I am is a walking disaster. I'm not even exaggerating that much. I walk, I talk, I explode things. That's the way it is. My car's get frequently destroyed, which is a bitch for my insurance, my apartment's been firebombed, and one time I even burnt down a funeral home…

A week ago the Slayer thing came to a climax and I got kidnapped and beaten. Joe did his usual rant and rave and demanded I quit my job. Now I'm a girl from Jersey, and someone _demanding_ anything gets my back up, so I yelled back and before you know it, bam, I'm single again. The really sucky thing is that the Slayer thing wasn't even directly related to my job, I witnessed a robbery and could identify the thief as one Anton Ward. Ward was a Slayer, which is a growing gang in Trenton. Well it was growing – it's pretty much decimated now. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. So, I was trying to find Ward and I rode through Slayer land, I accidentally bounced a few Slayers off the hood of my car, and before you can say 'Jiminy Cricket' I have a contract out on my head.

I hid out at Ranger's spare apartment while he was out of town, but I was going crazy out of my mind, and besides, I couldn't miss my sister's baby shower. That would be rude. So I snuck out of the apartment and went to the baby shower. Because Murphy has a personal vendetta against me, I got kidnapped at the shower. The Slayer's took me to their land to beat, rape and kill me. Luckily for me, I got rescued by Sally Sweet, drag queen extraordinaire. He mowed the vast majority of the Slayer's and once more I found myself surrounded by dead bodies.

I went to the cop shop and cleared up all the legalities, then I was free to go. Joe asked to talk to me in his office and two minutes later we were chin to chin yelling in each other's faces, neither of us listening to the other. Finally I stormed out and went to my parent's house; Mom had leftover sheet cake. I slept badly, but I shrugged it off as a singular occurrence.

Batman phoned the next morning, letting me know that he was going out of town again for a couple of weeks. After he hung up, I called Lula so she could watch CNN. The last few times Ranger's disappeared there's been a coup in Africa – Lula thinks these two events are related. For all I know, they might be.

As I ate breakfast, my mom told me, with a frown, that Joseph Morelli had gone out of town last night on police business. She was frowning because she sensed her last chance for getting me married slowly slip away. I tried to make her feel better by explaining about changes and summer and fall, but I don't think she got it. I shrugged and ate another donut.

After the shower, my sister Valerie moved out of my apartment and into her new house, apparently it got available early. I was happy about this because it meant I got my apartment back, which was better than living in a cardboard box, and definitely better than living at my parents.

The next day I threw myself back into work, dragging Lula as shotgun with me as we tackled the seventy-year-old felons of the Burg. We made two apprehensions and I earned a measly four hundred bucks. Better than a kick in the teeth I suppose, I knew this first hand, as a few days ago I had been kicked in the teeth. Well not actually, but I was punched in the face, and that's almost the same thing. The bruises were just starting to fade though, and physically I was beginning to feel a lot better.

But mentally? I guess I sound pretty upbeat, but that's all to do with denial. Truthfully? I didn't sleep well again. The nightmares keep coming, thick and fast, and I don't know what to do. I've never had trouble sleeping before. Sleep was always the refuge that I tiptoed off to when things got tough. You think Joe might be cheating on you? Have a nap. Confused about Ranger's feeling for you? Have a nap. Can't make the payment for next month's rent? Have a nap.

But I couldn't have a nap now, because every time I closed my eyes that hour replayed again on the inside of my eyelids like a terrible movie that I couldn't stop or ignore.

So I've been staying up as late as possible, hoping to push myself so that I can sleep undisturbed, or better yet, become so exhausted that I don't feel tired anymore. I leave the lights blazing and the radio on; anything that I think might keep me awake. In the past few days I've had more cold showers that I've ever had in my life – and none of them were due to my crappy water heater.

But eventually I always succumb to sleep - I can't help it; who knew eyelids could be so heavy?


	2. Nightmares and ?

_Only a short chapter really, but let me know what you think!_

**Sleepless in Trenton**

Chapter One

"Sleep, perchance to dream" Shakespeare knew his shit, but I have to disagree with that one. Every time I sleep, I pray that I won't dream. But I still dream, so avoiding sleep has become my new hobby. I've discovered in the past few days that nothing, _nothing_ is as bad as sleep, or the nightmares that comes with it. So at three AM I'm wearing my jogging pants, sneakers, and a tank top. It's still late summer, so the night air is cool but not cold.

I ran what I was beginning to think of as my 'usual route'. The first time I'd done it, I'd been puffing and heaving, and drenched attractively in sweat when I finally got home. Nearly two weeks down the line and I don't puff half as much.

I dragged my fatigued body up the stairs, and cold showered. Anything to delay sleep.

I've taken to avoiding my parent's house; even my best concealer can't hide the dark circles under my eyes. Lula noticed, but she just asked if I was ok, I firmly told her I was fine, she nodded and accepted it, but I noted that after that she kept a closer eye on me.

For the past two weeks, Lula's been by my side – during the day at any rate. I take her bounty huntering with me because not only do I like her company, but also her Dolby keeps me from falling asleep on the job.

And as the days go by, falling asleep on the job is becoming more of a possibility, which, as a bounty hunter, could quite literally kill me. I only needed one violent skip to spot me when I accidentally slipped into exhausted sleep…and I was a goner.

So I kept Lula by my side. If Lula noticed that she'd been riding shotgun everyday since the Slayer thing she didn't mention it, but she also waited for me in the car when I went to deliver the FTAs to the cop shop, rather than driving off, so maybe she did notice after all.

I dried off my hair, and with great reluctance I climbed into my bed. I no longer enjoyed the feeling of crisp new sheets against my skin, because I knew that the only reason they were clean was because I'd had to wash them yet again after I woke up in sweat soaked sheets. I'd spent a lot of money at the launderomat these past two weeks; I was becoming a regular at Kan Klean.

With the lights blazing around me, I surrendered from my constant fight with my eyelids and let them win; instantly they closed, and seconds later I was asleep.

©_The black Hummer came out of nowhere, swerved around me and pulled in front. I leant on my horn and reached for my gun. I did all the things I knew I was supposed to do, but it didn't matter. In seconds I was yanked out of my car and dragged to the back of the Buick, the trunk was open and I was shoved in. The world went black._

_The gun had fallen out of my pocket in the scramble, and I couldn't get out of the trunk of the car. I was twisted in the fetal position, I kicked at the trunk and started yelling; maybe someone would hear me at the intersections._

_The car stopped and the trunk opened, I was yanked out and dragged to the centre of the playground, there was a circle drawn on the ground and inside the circle was a big guy, his face lost in the shadow of his hooded sweatshirt. Junkman._

_'This is the circle where we try the enemy,' he said. 'If you're not a member, you're the enemy. We already disposed of three of the enemy. This is your night. Are you the enemy?'_

_I didn't say anything. God, I didn't want this to be my night, I wanted to be at Val's shower, eating sheet cake._

_Junkman's fist swung out and caught me on the side of my face; I staggered back. A roar went up from the group, and hands grabbed me._

Here's where the nightmare deviates from what actually happened, the bit I hated most. I didn't get rescued by Sally in this version.

_I tried to get off my jacket so I could crawl to the relative safety of the circle, but my arm got stuck and I couldn't get out of it. The slayers had me, their hands pawing at me. I was shoved to the floor of the playground, my back hitting the concrete painfully. Eugene Brown hovered over me, grinning. _

_My stomach lurched in fear and I continued to struggle. His hands tore at my pants, pulling them off me as two of the others held me down. He was going to rape me. But apparently he was going to beat me some more first. His fist slammed repeatedly into my body and I screamed._

I sat bolt upright, trying unsuccessfully to choke off the scream.

'Babe!'

Ranger? Huh?

Ranger wrapped his arms around me, 'it's ok Babe - it's over. It's finished; you're safe. It's ok.'

I was shaking and trembling, and not in a good I-just-orgasmed way. I was fighting back tears, trying to be strong. But I'm so goddamn tired. I just want to sleep. Just half an hour of dreamless sleep, is that so much to ask for?

I was covered in a fine sheen of sweat and my sheets were damp again. Regardless, Ranger held me close to him, rocking me back and forth whilst I tried to regain some semblance of control.

After a few minutes I decided my voice wouldn't be shaky anymore, 'So.' I said, 'how was your trip?' I was aiming for normal conversation, maybe Ranger would catch on that I didn't want to talk about the nightmares yet.

Apparently his Esp was in full working order because he just answered the question, not probing me with his own. 'It was good. I was in Boston, buying up some real estate. I'm going to develop it and sell it.'

'Sounds fun.' I said. I knew he was trying to distract me, make me feel better – Ranger never volunteers that much information normally.

'Yeah.' Ranger agreed, his hands still stroking my hair reassuringly.

We stayed like that, not saying anything. I knew he was waiting for me to talk, whenever I was ready.

'I've been having nightmares.' I stated the obvious.

Ranger nodded, staying silent, waiting patiently for me to say more.

I tried to work out what to say, how best to phrase it, but I came up blank. We sat there for fifteen minutes while I struggled with what to say.

'About the Slayers.'

Ranger nodded again.

'I close my eyes and I live it all again. I get shoved into the car; I get taken to the playground and beaten. But it ends differently each time. Junkman shoots me, or I get beaten to death, or I get raped, or…'

Ranger's arms tightened around me, and he kissed me lightly on the forehead.

'I'm scared all the time. Scared that I'll fall asleep and have to live it again. Every time is worse, but I'm so tired Ranger, I'm so tired.'

'Then sleep Babe. I'm here, you're safe. Just sleep, it'll be ok.'

I wanted so badly to believe him, and when has he ever lied to me?

So I closed my aching eyes and with Ranger's arms holding me, I slept. I slept and I did not dream.

* * *

© Some of the nightmare sequence is directly from TBO, other parts are paraphrased, and other bits are completely fabricated! 


	3. The magic touch

_Some more, let me know if you're enjoying this, or whether I should lay it to rest in the 'bad fan fic's' graveyard. I'm not sure at this point._ _So let me know what you think! Thanks to all my reviewers so far! Hugs to you all!–Heather_

**Sleepless in Trenton **

Chapter 2

I awoke feeling warm and safe, which momentarily confused me as it had been a while since I'd last woken feeling like that. Then I remembered – Ranger was back.

I turned, and met Ranger's chocolate brown eyes, 'Better?' he asked.

'Yeah. Thank you.'

'No problem.' Ranger replied.

'What's the time?' I asked.

He smiled slightly, 'four in the afternoon.'

'OMG, but I was meant to meet Lula at ten!'

'I know, she came here when you didn't show.' He paused, 'she's been worried about you Babe.'

'I know.' I said, feeling like a sucky friend. 'Have you been here all this time?' I asked incredulously.

'Yes.' Ranger said simply.

'Oh.' I couldn't believe he'd wasted so many hours, just holding me so I could sleep. 'Did you get some sleep?' I asked.

'Yeah, I grabbed a few hours.'

'Oh.'

'Why don't you shower? I'll get us some brunch.' Ranger suggested.

'Good idea, I could do with some food. Although it's more like brunner.'

'Brunner?

'**Br**eakfast, l**un**ch and din**ner**. Brunner.'

Ranger smiled and eased out of the bed. He stretched and I took full advantage of this to ogle; he was just wearing his combats, his shirt had gone and his hair was down. He was the definition of delectable.

'You're staring Babe.' Said Ranger, amused.

I blushed.

I showered quickly, scrubbing the night's sweat from me, I got dressed and then quickly pulled the sheets off the bed, before replacing them quickly and efficiently with clean sheets. I put the dirty sheets in my washing pile, all ready for another trip to Kan Klean's.

Ranger was watching me from the doorway, his expression blank. 'You been doing that a lot?'

'Yeah.' I shrugged. 'you sweat and stuff with nightmares.'

His jaw tightened. 'Why didn't you tell anyone?'

'That I'm going crazy? Sure. That pops up in conversation all the time.'

'Babe, you are_ not_ crazy. It's understandable that you've been having trouble sleeping. You should've had someone to help you. Where's Morelli?'

'We had a fight. He left on police business, apparently.'

Ranger frowned, 'I didn't know that. If I had I wouldn't have gone to Boston and left you. As it is you should have called my cell.'

'I didn't want to bother you. Besides, you might have been doing your thing in Africa.'

'What?'

'Uh…never mind.'

Ranger looked like he might pursue it, but then he shrugged slightly, 'Brunner's ready.'

He'd set the table, and there was a Pino's pizza and some salad on the table, as well as some bottled water. As long as I had Pino's, I could deal with some salad and water. We ate in comfortable silence.

'I have to go Babe. I have a re-decorating job later tonight, but I should be done around midnight, want me to swing by after that?'

'Um…' Yes, please please come here! 'You can if you want, but don't bother if it's inconvenient.'

Ranger studied me for a minute, 'I'll be here.' He said. He tucked an errant curl around my ear and gave me a kiss on the forehead, 'Later Babe.' He was still wearing his clothes from yesterday, but damn, he still looked fine.

I called Lula and arranged for her to pick me up in ten minutes.

'Girl,' said Lula as I angled into her car, 'your skinny white ass be looking much better. Batman deserves a medal.'

'Ranger just helped me sleep a little.'

'There weren't no _just_ about it. When I came by to check you were ok, he answered the door. And you know what? He was carrying you in his arms because anytime he put you down you started tossing and turning, but if he so much as touched you, you settled right back down. But when I touched you, you just carried right on, but when he did it, you just relaxed. It was freaky. It was awesome.'

I was gaping, I didn't know what to say.

Lula continued, 'He an important business man, but he cancelled three meetings while I was there, just so you could sleep some more. I hate to say this, but Supercop ain't got shit on Batman, I bet if Supercop had been the one there he would've woken you up himself to go to his meeting, and I bet he wouldn't have been able to stop you tossing and turning neither. Batman rules supreme. He rocks.'

'Yeah.' I agreed, 'he does.' But I didn't really want to examine this new information. He'd cancelled three meetings? After being away for two weeks? And then only his touch could calm me down? Lula was right; that was freaky.

Lula and I spent the rest of the afternoon ferrying Mooner to the cop shop…as soon as we could drag him away from the Charlie's Angel's repeats. Ok, so we sat and watched one episode. Fine, two episodes, but then we dragged his stoned ass to the pokey.

Lula dropped me back at my apartment, I cleaned out Rex's cage and I ate a few tastycakes. I watched Ghostbusters and then at eleven I got changed for my run. I was feeling really tired but I wanted to wait up for Ranger. I wanted to avoid the nightmares if I could.

I stretched out for a few minutes, then I set out for my run. Forty-five minutes later and I took the stairs up to my apartment. Ranger was on my couch, watching the TV.

'Hey,' I said, 'you're early.'

'Yeah.' He agreed. 'Running?' he asked, surprised.

'Yeah, it helps keep me awake,' I explained. 'I'll just take a quick shower.'

When I came out of the bathroom I noticed that there was a duffel bag by Ranger's side of the bed.

Ranger's side? Where did that come from? Yeesh, a guy sleeps there a coupla nights and it becomes his side? Get a grip Stephanie.

'Ready for bed?' Ranger asked from behind me, making me jump.

'Sheesh Ranger! Can't you make some noise when you do that?'

'That would spoil it.' Ranger smiled.

I rolled my eyes. I was dressed in my equivalent of pyjamas: a t-shirt and some panties. I slipped between the sheets.

'Back in a minute.' Said Ranger, grabbing his duffel and going into the bathroom.

When he came back out he was wearing nothing but those silk boxer shorts, his hair was down – it looked brushed out. He slid into bed, putting his back to my front, spooning me from behind. He clicked off the bedside light.

'Night Babe.'

'Night Ranger.'

He put his arm around my waist and held me close to him. Five minutes later, I stared at the wall opposite and asked, 'Ranger?'

'Yeah Babe?' He said softly.

'Is it true?'

He paused, 'what?'

'That when you touch me I calm down, but when Lula does, I don't?'

'Yeah.'

'Ranger?'

'Yeah Babe?' He repeated.

'Is it true?

Ranger paused again, 'What?'

'That you cancelled three meetings?'

He hesitated, 'Yeah.'

'Ranger?'

'Yeah Babe?'

'Thank you.'

'No worries, now go to sleep Babe.'

I snuggled against him; his scent and his body surrounding me. I closed my eyes, and, feeling warm and safe, I felt myself drift off.


	4. Relapse

_Let me know what you think! In order to tap into Steph's tiredness I'm burning the midnight oil for y'all, so I hope this works, cos I'm tired now, and am definitely going to sleep! – Heather_

**Sleepless in Trenton**

Chapter 3

I awoke to the annoying and repetitive beep-beep of my alarm clock. I stretched out an arm and knocked it off the bedside table; it stopped beeping as the batteries fell out. Excellent.

I felt Ranger's chest vibrate with silent laughter against my back. Ranger, huh? Oh, yeah.

'Why set the alarm if you're going to ignore it?' Ranger asked.

'Because it wakes me up, so you don't have to waste another day holding me, you've got business stuff to do, you can't just waste your time on me. Besides, you don't recover from sleep dep. that fast, I need to get back into the swing of normal sleeping times.'

'True, but Babe?'

'Yeah?'

'It's not a waste of my time. I don't mind spending the day holding you so you can sleep.'

'I know. Thanks Ranger.'

'Sure. I'm going for a run, wanna come with?'

'No thanks, I'm going to shower and grab us some breakfast.'

'Ok, I'll be back in forty five.' Ranger pulled on some sweat pants and a painted on shirt and disappeared.

I showered, shaving my legs because I didn't want Ranger to see them getting hairy. I hopped out of the shower and got dressed, leaving my hair to dry naturally. Then I grabbed the car keys and went to the bakery where I got a donut or two for me, and a couple of croissants for Ranger.

I heard the shower running as I returned, so I sat down at the table and ate my breakfast. Ranger emerged a few minutes later, his still damp hair tied back, smelling deliciously of Bulgari. Mmm I love the smell of Ranger.

He sat down and ate his croissants, I got up and soundlessly fetched him a bottle of his water, he flashed me a smile and took it gratefully, 'Thanks Babe.' He said, gesturing to the croissants and the water.

'Sure.' I replied simply. It was such a small thing to give him when he was helping to save my sanity.

I got up and moved to the couch, switching the TV on to news. I tried to drag a brush through my wind-snarled hair, but it was a fairly painful experience.

'Up.' Ranger said. I obediently got up, he sat down on the couch behind me, spreading his legs and then he patted the couch between his legs, 'down.' I sat down between his legs and he took the brush from me and gently started working the knots from my hair. He was much better at it than me, he had more patience and he was far more gentle. After five minutes I wasn't paying any attention to the news at all, just the feeling of Ranger brushing out my curls.

'Done.' He said, running his fingers through my now dry hair that, for once, was falling in near perfect curls around my face.

He rested his hands on my shoulders and then he started rubbing my shoulders, 'you're tense Babe, try and relax.' I tried, really I did, but it's been a hard month. 'You have more knots in your back then you did in your hair Babe.' Said Ranger, sounding…concerned?

I didn't know what to say to that, so I said nothing. Ranger's hands firmly massaged my shoulders and my neck, forcibly removing the tension from my body.

'Better?' he asked after a while.

'Mmm.'

He laughed softly, 'Good. I'll be finished work at around six tonight, do you want me to swing by at six or wait until later so you can have some space?'

'Six is fine, but whenever you want.'

Ranger kissed my hair, 'six it is. What food do you want me to bring?'

'You don't have to bring food…'

'Pino's?'

'Pino's would be good.' I admitted.

'Pino's.' Then Ranger kissed my forehead and was gone.

The day flew by. I was still feeling tired, but not nearly as bad as I have been the past few days. I didn't realise how truly shattered I've been until I started feeling better. I still ache in my bones, I'm still weary, but I'm getting better.

Lula spent the day telling me how fine Batman is. She doesn't need to tell me, I know. He brushed my hair. I didn't know what to make of that, in a weird way it was very intimate, not sexual exactly, but intimate. Though I suppose him sleeping in my bed is pretty intimate if you're being picky. But then I wasn't 100 sure what that meant either.

It was nice, he was looking out for me…and no one else could stop the nightmares. I don't know what to think of that either.

So mostly I've spent the day strenuously not thinking about things; it's a Jersey skill.

Lula and I lost our skip, for now anyway, he gave us the slip at the transvestite bar. Still, I did a little bit of not-so-legal entry and found some information on his relatives and friends addresses, so I know where to look if he holes up.

Lula dropped me off at my apartment at five thirty, and sure enough, Ranger was there.

'Early.' I said.

'Yeah.' Ranger agreed. I think either he's getting off early to come look after me, or he's telling me a later time than he really expects to be finished so that he won't be late.

We ate Pino's silently but companionably, me with my sub, and Ranger with his salad.

'Movie?' Ranger asked, gesturing to the blockbusters bag I hadn't noticed.

'Cool!' I investigated the contents of the bag, 'wow, did you rent the whole store?'

He grinned, 'you gotta have a good choice Babe.'

I smiled, I picked out Independence Day, it's a great film: lots of explosions for Ranger, lots of Will Smith for me.

We settled easily on the couch, and I curled up next to Ranger, his arm naturally slinging around my shoulders. By the end of the credits, I was feeling extra tired.

Ranger must have noticed, 'Bedtime?' he asked.

'Not yet. How bout I go for a run, and then get ready for bed, and then we watch another movie?'

'Ok, mind if I run with you?'

'Sure.' I answered, smiling.

And that's the routine we settled into with out really seeming to. The morning would start with breakfast, and Ranger's run. Then he'd say what time he expected to be back whilst brushing my hair. On of us would organise food and a movie, then we'd run, shower, and sleep.

When we were together we were in almost constant physical contact, holding hands, an arm round a waist, sitting on his lap, stroking my hair - it seemed we were always touching, but never in a contrived way. Our constant contact helped to reassure me and keep me calm, and also I just enjoyed touching Ranger. You'd have to be dead not to enjoy touching Ranger.

But after a month of Ranger sleeping in my bed, there was a sharp reminder of why Ranger was there; he said he'd be back by midnight. He was on a redecorating job, and the hours weren't great. So I sat up and waited for him, preferring to being tired than trying to sleep and having nightmares.

By one AM I was getting worried, but I knew Ranger had told Tank to keep me informed if anything happened to him; so I doubted anything really bad had happened.

As worried as I was, by two AM I could barely keep my eyes open. I was fighting to stay awake, but I was loosing.

By three AM my eyelids slid shut and I tumbled into dark dreams.

_The black Hummer came out of nowhere, swerved around me and pulled in front. I leant on my horn and reached for my gun. I did all the things I knew I was supposed to do, but it didn't matter. In seconds I was yanked out of my car and dragged to the back of the Buick, the trunk was open and I was shoved in. The world went black._

Please no, make it stop, make it stop, Ranger, where are you?

_The gun had fallen out of my pocket in the scramble, and I couldn't get out of the trunk of the car. I was twisted in the fetal position, I kicked at the trunk and started yelling; maybe someone would hear me at the intersections._

_The car stopped and the trunk opened, I was yanked out and dragged to the centre of the playground, there was a circle drawn on the ground and inside the circle was a big guy, his face lost in the shadow of his hooded sweatshirt. Junkman._

Please no, I'm sorry, make it stop.

_'This is the circle where we try the enemy,' he said. 'If you're not a member, you're the enemy. We already disposed of three of the enemy. This is your night. Are you the enemy?'_

_I didn't say anything. _

_Junkman's fist swung out and caught me on the side of my face; I staggered back. A roar went up from the group, and hands grabbed me._

_Grasping clawing snatching hands, seizing my arms painfully, spinning me around, making me dizzy. Cruel laughter arose from the group and I couldn't stifle the sob. At last the spinning stopped, but as Junkman raised his gun to my head, I wished I could spin some more, anything to delay what was coming._

Make it stop! Ranger!

_Junkman started to pull the trigger, and like it was in slow motion the bullet moved towards me, and with terrifying certainty I knew I was already dead – all I was doing was waiting for the bullet to hit. I screamed._

I sat bolt upright. I was on the couch, shaking and trembling, rocking back and forth, unable to stop the tears streaming down my face. I was gulping in breaths trying to slow my racing heart, but the fear was still rolling through me in thick nauseous waves.

A part of me was aware that my door was opening, and that I should be worried, but I could already feel it was Ranger, and besides, I think I'm all feared out.

I couldn't really see whether it was him or not, my tears were obscuring my vision, and I couldn't stop crying enough to see.

I felt Ranger's arms envelope and enfold me, his voice rising and falling in a soothing voice, rocking me gently.

Eventually I got my tears under control, but I couldn't stop the shaking.

'I'm sorry Babe, the job got FUBARed, the police detained me, I got here as soon as I could.' I could hear the guilt in his voice, but I was too tired and emotionally drained to deal with that.

'You ok?' I asked.

He looked at me blankly.

'You get charged for anything?' I clarified.

'No, just hauled in for questioning, it's all sorted out now.'

I nodded, burying my head into the crook of his neck. He lifted me easily, carrying me to bed.

He held me tightly, but it was a long time before I stopped trembling.


	5. The Past

_A lot of detail is given at once; let me know if it's too much and I might re-work it! – Heather _

**Sleepless in Trenton**

Chapter 4

I stared at the wall. I couldn't sleep, even with Ranger next to me; the fear was still too real, too vivid. My eyes ached and demanded sleep, but my tense body refused to comply.

I don't know how long I stared at the wall before I felt Ranger move next to me, reaching over to the bedside light and clicking it on. I blinked against the glare of the sudden light.

'Want to talk?' He asked.

'About the nightmares or in general?'

'Whichever.'

'How about we talk about you?' I asked.

'Me?'

'Yeah. You've been living with me for over a month now, but I still don't know anymore about you. Well…that's not actually true; I know you brush hair really well, I know you're a heater at night, I know what you like for breakfast and what Chinese dishes etc you prefer. I know you like rock and you listen to classical stuff to relax, I know you're very generous with yourself and your time, I know from a glance at your face if you've had a good or a bad day, even when it looks blank, I know you have great taste in movies, and I know you speak ghetto and Wall street.'

I paused, 'So, actually, I do know a lot about you. But I don't know anything about your past, or your family. But if you don't want to tell me, then it's fine. No pressure or anything, I'm just curious.'

Ranger patted the space between his legs and we assumed our usual position: my back to his front. I leaned back into his body and he wrapped his arms around me.

We sat in silence like that for ten minutes or so whilst Ranger worked out what, if anything, he was going to tell me.

'I'm the eldest of five.' Ranger started. 'I have three younger brothers and a sister. I'm 32, Dominic is 28, Michael is 26, and Andy and Katrina are 24. I had a very happy childhood, I was an A student, and I was captain of the football team.

'But when I was fourteen everything changed, and I had to grow up. My mother died in a hit and run accident; she was crossing the road and the car didn't stop.'

He paused. 'I walked home from school, I was at high school whereas the others were still too young, so they were at another school. When I got home, my dad's eyes were red rimmed, and my brothers and sister were crying. But it was Maria, our cook, that told me what happened.'

Ranger took a deep breath, 'We were all close to mom. She was the type of person that always found the positive in the negative. She was always smiling, laughing.'

Ranger paused, 'you remind me of her, you have the same heart.'

I smiled, 'thanks.'

'Sure.' He said, kissing me on my hair, and then he carried on talking, 'Every Saturday I would bring mom a flower from our garden, or I'd buy one with my pocket money. I'd tell her that a beautiful woman deserved a beautiful flower, and she'd smile at me, ruffle my hair, and tell me she loved me. My father was, is, a good man, but he's not very good with emotions. His way of letting you know he loved you was by clapping you on the shoulder and saying 'good job'.'

Ranger smiled, 'But one of my best memories was when I was nine and I snuck downstairs; there was music playing in the living room, the door was slightly ajar, and I could see my mom and dad dancing by candlelight. My dad said something and she laughed. I realised then, that I wanted that kind of love, that closeness they shared. But after my mom's death; my father was a broken man, he never smiled, never laughed; he threw himself into work, he was never home, he was always travelling. It was then that I decided that maybe that kind of love costs too much.'

My heart ached for him; for the child he hadn't been allowed to be, for the grief he'd had to live through, and the responsibility he'd had to shoulder.

Ranger continued, 'I made sure my brothers and sister did their homework, and I helped them if they were stuck. And when my brother got into a fight at school, it was me that went to talk to his teachers.

'But by the time I was sixteen, my grades had slipped from A to D. I didn't concentrate in class and I fell in with the wrong crowd. I started smoking and dropped out of the football team. The school sent a letter home to my dad; but he wasn't home, so I just threw it away. I'd go home after school, check they'd do their work, make sure they ate dinner, and wait until they were in bed; then I'd go out and hang with my friends on street corners.

'By the time I was seventeen I was in a gang and I was stealing cars, even some B&E, doing drugs. By now, my brothers knew I was off the rails, but I kept them on the straight and narrow, and every time they complained about my hypocrisy I'd tell them 'don't do as I do, do as I say.'

'By eighteen I was the head of my gang, and I hadn't seen my father for several months, I arranged to be out when he was home; I was angry with him for leaving me to raise them, I was angry with him for leaving. Wasn't it bad enough that I'd lost my mom? Why did he have to take my dad away too? I was stumbling through the world alone, trying to do the best I could for my family, but I was head deep in gang life.'

Ranger sighed, 'My gang, the Red Fights, didn't kill other gangs members, didn't physically hurt civilians, but we did other shit. We were enemies of the Black Hounds; who were another gang in our area, fights broke out between us all the time, but it was nothing more than a few broken bones.

'In every gang you have a blood brother: someone who watches your back, someone who would die for you. My brother, Hawk, he been seeing this girl for a few months. He refused to tell me who she was, but man, you only need look at his face and see his love for her.'

Ranger seamlessly slipped into ghetto speak, the language of his gang. 'He said she were it. All he needed. I wanted to meet the chick so I followed him one time; the girl was Crystal Falry, and she was the sister of Dog Falry – the leader of the Black Hounds. I burst in the door, yelling at Hawk – telling him this Romeo and Juliet shit would be a cluster fuck if Dog found out. But damn, she was looking at him the way he looked at her; fuck me if they weren't in love. I said I'd keep their secret, but they needed to get out of Miami before Dog found out.'

Ranger took another deep breath and let it out slowly, 'but they didn't.' He shook his head, 'My dad had come home without fore warning; he'd finally heard that I was in shit; that I was in a gang.

'He was furious. Maria, our cook, tried to calm him down and he snapped at her. I told him to treat her with respect because she'd been cooking and cleaning and being a parent to his children for years, unlike him. Before he could reply, my cell rang; it was Flight, my second in command; Hawk was dead. Dog had found out. I told Flight I was on my way and hung up. My dad told me not to walk out the front door or I wouldn't like the consequences; I went into my room and I heard him blew out a sigh of relief.'

'He shouldn't have been relieved; I put on my gang clothes, the ones I'd made sure my family didn't see. I pulled on a red leather jacket with Red Fights emblazoned across the back and jeans that were cut off below the knee on one leg, but not cut off on the right leg. I untied my hear, and tied a red bandana round my forehead. I put on my guns and my knives and I stepped back into the living room.

'One by one my brothers came up to me and hugged me and told me to be careful, I told them to 'work hard, play harder and be happy.' I hugged my little sister to me and told her the same; she was only ten and she didn't want her biggest brother to go. She asked when I was coming back, and I said I'd come back when I could look in her eyes and feel I deserved the love in them.'

He sighed, 'I hugged Maria, told her to look after them, and then I left. I didn't look at my dad. Over the next few weeks' gang violence exploded, no one else died, but it was a close run thing. Then I heard word on the street; I heard Crystal was pregnant with Hawk's child. So now the violence had a reason; we wanted to protect Hawk's baby and Crystal – Dog would kill the baby before he let the Fights and the Hounds mix like that.

'The violence increased, and the morgues began to fill up. Finally, I hunted down Farly, and then I killed him like the dog he was.'

Ranger's voice was flat and unemotional, but I knew his emotions were raging inside, so I kept silent and let him speak.

'Dog's second in command and I reached an agreement, and gang violence ceased. It was over. I took Crystal with me, her eyes were bloodshot with tears and she was far less talkative than she had been; the love of her life was gone, and she was alone, pregnant with his child. I married her, set her up with my savings and brought her a house in Florida. Then I joined the army; I figured if I was a killer already, I might as well kill for my country. I got leave when Crystal went into labour and I held her hand whilst she gave birth to my brother's daughter. We called her Danielle, because Hawk's real name was Daniel.'

'I lived with Danielle and Crys whenever I was on leave, I treated Danielle like my daughter, but I never treated Crys like my wife – I was married to her, but she was my brother's woman, not mine. When Danielle was four, Crys met someone else and asked for a divorce. Danielle still calls me dad, but now I'm more like an uncle. Richard is her dad now.'

'What about your family?' I asked.

'Even though I wasn't in Miami I still kept an eye on them. When my brother was graduating I went to his graduation ceremony, I snuck in at the back of the hall. He gave a speech to his year, and at the end he said, 'I don't really have any words of wisdom of my own, so I'm going to borrow my older brother's, 'play hard, work harder and be happy.'' Then everyone started cheering and clapping, and Dominic looked directly at me and smiled and nodded at me. I smiled and nodded back, and then I slipped out of the hall. I'd managed to invest my money quite wisely, so I when Dom came home he had a brand new car in the drive and a note that said, 'Good speech. Well done. Drive carefully. Ric.' Dom's always loved cars.

'Two years later, Michael was graduating; I hid at the back of the hall again. Just before Michael walked off the platform I could see he was looking for me, so I moved so he could find me, and I smiled and nodded at him too. I'd found out that Michael had come out as gay to my family, so he got a different graduating present. I wanted to let him know that I knew he was gay, and that I accepted him. So when Michael came home he had a big box on the porch and a note that said, 'Open in private. Well done. Enjoy. Ric.''

'What was in the box?' I asked curiously.

I felt Ranger's chest vibrate with laughter, 'Porn Babe.'

'Porn!'

'Gay porn. About a hundred video's with all different types of stuff, I left a note inside the box saying, 'wasn't sure what you liked exactly.''

I burst out laughing, 'you brought your brother porn?'

'Yeah.'

'Wait a sec, that means you had to go to the store and buy gay porn!'

'Yeah. That was kinda embarrassing, especially as I was buying so much.'

I carried on laughing, 'so what about your next brother?' I asked when I'd regained my breath.

'Fernando – Andy. He and Katrina are twins, so it was both of their graduations. Andy's was first up and I smiled at him, and then Trina was up and I smiled at her too. I was just about to do my disappearing act when my dad appeared next to me. 'That's all of them Ric.' He said, 'they've all graduated.' I nodded. 'You did a good job.' Dad said, clasping my shoulder, 'come home soon.' I nodded again, clasping his shoulder back, 'soon.' I agreed.

'I left Katrina a very expensive prom dress that she had been saving up to buy, but she still didn't have nearly enough money to get it, as well as a diamond necklace and a note which said, 'Well done. A beautiful woman deserves beautiful jewellery. Ric.' I left Andy a receipt that said that his entry into FBI training had been paid for, as well as the full training module. I left him a note saying, 'Well done. Go get the bad guys. Ric.' For as long as I can remember Andy wanted to yell 'Freeze FBI!' And kick the bad guys butts.'

'When did you go home?' I asked.

'I was 26 when Trina and Andy graduated, so I was about 27 when I came home. The whole family, including Maria, were having a picnic out on the lawn. I bypassed security and walked to my dad, 'need to get better security system' I said. Dad nodded and told me to sit down and have some chicken. So I did. It's been five years since then, and I've gotten to know my family again, as well as my dad. A year ago dad married Maria; I haven't seen him this happy in a while.'

'How often do you visit them?'

'Whenever I'm in Miami I stay at my parent's house, and as I have Rangeman Miami, it's at least a few times a year.'

I turned in Ranger's arms, 'Ranger?'

'Yeah?'

'Thanks for telling me.'

'Sure.'

I snuggled into him, resting my head on his shoulder briefly - I'll just rest my eyes for a few seconds…

I didn't open my eyes until 8 o'clock the next morning.


	6. Choices

_I'm actually pretty happy with this chappy, but **let me know what you think** – Heather _

**Sleepless in Trenton**

Chapter 5

We followed our normal routine as normal, and it was only when Ranger was finished brushing my hair that I mentioned the night before.

'About last night,' I said, turning to face him and straddling his lap. 'Thank you for telling me, it means a lot that you trust me with stuff like that.'

Ranger smiled, 'I trust you Babe. Have done for a long time.' He paused, the smile fading. 'I'm sorry that I was too late to stop the nightmare.'

'It's ok,' I said, hearing the hint of guilt in his voice, 'it wasn't your fault. The most important thing was that you were there for me when I really needed you.' It was my turn to hesitate, 'you always have been.' I said.

Ranger met my eyes and leaned forward, his eyes flicking down to my lips and then back to my eyes. He moved his head slowly towards me, tilting it slightly, giving me plenty of time to pull away. I moved my head forward and met his lips in a gentle kiss. Ranger pulled back slightly, his eyes asking if I wanted more.

I licked my lips, and his eyes darkened. I leaned forward and we kissed softly again, his teeth gently tugged on my lower lip and I parted my lips: opening my mouth to him. His hot tongue dipped into my mouth, stroking slowly against my tongue, exploring my mouth intimately. The kiss was tender and sweet, rather than hot and demanding, and instead of sending bolts of heat between my legs; it sent bolts of something else to my heart.

We reluctantly pulled apart, both of us affected by our kiss, neither of us saying anything. A slow smile drew across Ranger's face and he reached out and tucked an errant curl behind my ear. I smiled; we stayed like that, saying nothing, just gazing into each other's eyes, holding hands. Eventually Ranger's cell phone rang, and with a grimace of annoyance, he answered it. He listened, occasionally saying the odd word, then he hung up.

'I've got to go Babe, apparently I'm late for a meeting.'

'Sorry.' I apologised.

'Don't be.' Ranger smiled.

'Have a good day.' I said, kissing him lightly on the lips.

'You too.' Ranger replied, stroking the side of my face tenderly, before tilting my chin up so he could kiss me softly. 'I'll be back by eight.' He said, 'I'll bring salad, ok?'

'Ok.' I replied. I hopped off his lap and walked him to the door. 'Bye Babe.' Ranger said, curling his hand around my neck and pulling me to him for another brushing of our lips. Then he was gone.

And I was flustered.

What was going on? For a month we'd co-existed platonically, but it looks like Ranger's just changed the rules.

And the only thing that worries me is how happy I am that they've changed.

It was Thursday, which is the day Lula and I go to the gun range. During those terrible two weeks where I struggled to stay awake, the gun range became a safe haven. All those loud bangs ensured I wouldn't fall asleep. Weirdly, I came to associate that safe feeling with my gun, and now I'm not afraid of my gun at all. I actually look forward to going to the gun range, which is why Lula and I set a special day where we would go and practice.

Lula and I pulled over at the ATM so I could get some cash out. I checked my balance, and was flabbergasted at the amount there. A whole load of that money should have disappeared for rent. I should just let it slide, but I'm an honest person, so I dialled my Super, Dillon.

'Hello?'

'Hey Dillon, It's Steph. I was wondering if my rent had been paid, because no money's been taken out of my account.'

Lula rolled her eyes at me, muttering about stupid skinny ass white girls with more money than sense.

'Hang on Steph, let me check on the computer system.'

He ummed and ahhed and tapped on a few keys and then said, 'it looks like your rent has been paid by a Mr Manoso.'

'Oh. Thanks Dillon.'

'Sure thing. Bye.'

'Bye.'

Disconnect.

I hesitated a moment, then I speed dialled one.

'Yo.'

'You-'

'Yeah.' Ranger admitted.

'But-'

'Deal.'

'Fine.' I sighed.

'Later Babe.'

'Later.'

Disconnect.

Lula was staring at me.

'What?' I asked.

'What the hell was that?'

'Ranger paid my rent.'

'So?'

'So I phoned him to talk about it.'

'All you said were 'you, but, fine, later.' That's not a conversation.'

'Yes it was. I phoned to say 'you paid my rent'. Ranger admitted he had, I basically said 'but you shouldn't have done that', he said 'deal with it'. I said 'fine', then we said later and hung up. We just shorthanded the conversation because he's in a meeting.'

Lula was looking at me like I head an extra head, 'Girl, you had a _Batman_ conversation.'

'Yeah.'

'And you understood it?'

'Yeah.' I was beginning to see her point. A month ago, that conversation would have made no sense to me. But now it did. In those few weeks it seems I've developed a bit of Esp. myself.

The more I thought about it, the more true I realised it was. I had Esp.! But only with Batman; I could tell when Ranger was hungry or thirsty at a glance, or if he'd had a bad day, or if he was amused, or…

We could conduct whole conversations with our eyes.

Eek!

'Next stop, Dunkin' Donuts.' Lula said, stomping her foot on the gas pedal.

'How did it happen?' I asked Lula as I scarfed down the donuts. 'When did it happen? When did I start understanding Ranger so well?'

'Don't know.' Said Lula, 'Probably the most important question is when did you start loving him?'

'A long time ago.' I said. Then I threw my hand over my mouth and stared wide eyed at Lula.

She nodded, looking satisfied. Then she stared at me like she was giving me an appraisal; finally I could see that she'd made her decision.

'Supercop's back in town.' Lula stated.

'Oh.' I thought about that. Normally I felt happy that Morelli's back. Now I felt…kinda disinterested. Don't get me wrong, I hope we can be friends, but I'm not going to call him and arrange to have Pino's at his place tonight. Why would I do that when I could have salad with Ranger?

Did I just choose salad over Pino's?

No.

I just chose Ranger over Joe.

Something must have shown on my face, cos Lula nodded in satisfaction.

'Damn skippy.' She said.


	7. Mrs Karolisky

_Let me know what you think! – Heather x_

**Sleepless in Trenton**

Chapter 6

After my strange heart to heart with Lula we hightailed it back to the gun range. We brought more ammo from Sunny and started shooting the shit out of the little paper men. The first time I'd come here I'd felt kinda bad about shooting them, I mean, what did they ever do to me?

But since then I'd mastered the art of projection. You looked at the little man target and visualised someone who'd really pissed you off. More often than not, Lula imagined Vinnie. My target's varied from day to day, but today's target was Mrs Karolisky who'd been buying bullets for her husband, when she'd asked me sweetly, with an evil glint in her eye; when exactly had I started living in sin with the big black man?

I wanted to rip her eyes out for calling him black and meaning it as a derogatory term.

He's mocha latte, and he's delicious, and he's way better than your fat ugly husband, I thought. From the grin on Sunny's face and the shock on Mrs Karolisky's…I think I may have said it out loud.

I _would_ feel bad…but I can't be bothered. She's lucky I didn't call her fat and ugly too.

Sunny made a gasping snorting noise.

Uh oh.

Mrs Karolisky turned on her heel and marched her cellulite butt out of the store.

Guess I said that out loud too.

'They're on the house.' Sunny said, gesturing to my bullets, before she collapsed into a fit of laughter.

Mrs Karolisky had given me a big case of the fury, but she'd also made me think. If Mrs Karolisky knew I was living with Ranger, then my mom did too, but I hadn't received a single phone call about it.

And also, I was getting a tiny bit of stick for living with Ranger, which made me think; I can't imagine what it must be like being a black person in a white persons world. I looked over at Lula with respect, I've always respected her, but now I've experience a small bit of the shit that she probably has to deal with everyday.

An hour later, and Lula and I were done. I felt much better.

'Can you drop me at my parent's?' I asked Lula.

'Yo' ass actually _wants_ to go there?' Lula asked.

'Yeah, I haven't been in a while.' About a month and a half, I'm a sucky daughter. At least I'd called regularly.

Mom and Grandma were at the door when we drew up, fore warned by some Burg mom early warning system.

I thanked Lula and she drove off, Dolby up as high as possible, the windows shaking.

'Hey Mom.' I said.

She looked at me for a moment, 'You're looking much better, but you still look a bit tired.'

'I didn't sleep so well last night.' I admitted.

'Still having nightmares?' She asked.

I blinked, surprised – how did mom know about that?

'You had a nightmare when you stayed here.' My mom said, her lips tight. 'And you looked more tired every time I saw you, until you stopped coming. But I still heard from everyone that you had circles under your eyes.'

'Oh.' I said.

'Oh.' Mom repeated. 'Come inside Stephanie, there are chocolate muffins.'

'I heard the bounty hunter with the fine package has been living with you.' said Grandma Mazur as I walked past.

'Ranger's been helping me.' I said.

'Uh huh,' Grandma said, 'I bet he gets you so tired that you can sleep, by having lots of sweaty-'

'Mother!' My mom exclaimed.

'What?' Grandma asked, 'I bet he does.'

'It's not like that.' I said, blushing. 'He's just there for me, ok?'

'Ok.' My mom was looking at me, considering, 'you should invite him to dinner sometime.' She finally said.

'I'll ask him sometime.' I agreed, thereby admitting he was more to me than just friends.

'Good.' My mom said, smiling.

'Hot damn!' Agreed Grandma.

I remembered the way Ranger had kissed me earlier and I smiled, 'yeah.'

It was 5:30 and I was watching the weather channel when my cell rang. The screen read 'Batman calling'.

'Yo.' I said.

'Yo Babe. I'm done for the day, need any help?'

'No thanks, I didn't go after any skips today.'

'You go to the range?' He asked. His voice was curious, but there was no hint of amusement, so I guess he hadn't heard about the Mrs Karolisky thing.

'Yeah. I'm real good at shooting paper now.'

'It's an important skill.' Ranger agreed, I could tell he was smiling.

'Yup. Anyway, I'm at my parents now, so if you haven't brought the salad already we could have dinner here? If you want. But if you don't then that's fine because-'

'Babe.' Ranger interrupted my rambling.

'Yeah?'

'I'd love to come to your parents for dinner.'

'Really?'

'Really. Should I bring anything?'

'Just you.' I replied.

'Babe,' Ranger teased, 'there isn't anything _just_ about me.'

I smiled, 'I know.' I said. 'It's 5:35, so that gives you 25 minutes to get here and not be late.'

'I'll be there in fifteen.' He promised.

'Later Ranger.'

'Later Babe.' Ranger responded, then he hung up.

'Mom!' I yelled, 'Ranger and I are staying for dinner, is that ok?'

Mom appeared out of the kitchen, 'That's fine, Stephanie. I still haven't gotten the hang of not needing to cook for Valerie and Albert and the girls as well, so we have plenty spare.'

'Great. Thanks mom.'

Sure enough, exactly fifteen minutes later, Ranger drew up in a black Dodge Viper SRT10 Convertible.

Nice.

I waited at the door. Ranger angled out of the car and grabbed something from the passenger seat. Ranger was Corporate-Ranger today, resplendent in an excellent black suit and silk shirt.

Yum.

He flashed me 200 watts as he walked up. 'Yo Babe.' He said.

'Yo yourself.' I replied. Ranger leaned down and kissed me lightly. Then he put his hand on the small of my back and I led the way in. Many brave men have entered the Plum household. But few dare it a second time. Ranger must be _extra_ brave.

'Ranger.' My mom said, 'how nice to see you again.'

'Thank you Miss Plum, these are for you.' he said, offering her a bouquet of beautiful flowers.

'Oh!' Said my mom, taken aback. Joe never brought flowers. She smiled warmly at Ranger, 'Call me Ellen.'

'Thank you, Ellen.'

My mom went to put the flowers in a vase, 'suck up.' I whispered to Ranger.

He grinned at me, 'Your point?'

I smiled, 'I don't really have one.' I admitted.

He laughed softly, drawing me to him, wrapping his arms around my waist as he smiled into my eyes. I hugged him back, enjoying the feel of him in my arms.

'Nice suit Mr Manoso.' I said.

His lips twitched, 'thanks.' He kissed me butterfly soft on my forehead.

My dad entered the room, pausing as he saw us holding each other.

'That your car?' He asked Ranger, gesturing to the Dodge.

'Yes sir.'

'It's a Dodge isn't it?'

'Yes sir.'

'A good American car.' My dad said approvingly.

'Can't trust foreign cars.' Ranger agreed.

My dad looked with renewed interest at Ranger, 'Good man.' Dad said to me, 'good car ethic.' Which, to my dad, was pretty much the seal of approval.

My dad retreated to the kitchen to carve the pot roast.

'You're in.' I whispered to Ranger.

He grinned at me.

'How'd you know about the cars?' I asked in hushed tones.

'I remembered from last time.' Ranger whispered back.

'Clever.' I said appreciatively.

We sat down at the table and we were all having a nice dinner with polite chit chat until Grandma asked Ranger, 'Did you hear what Stephanie did today?'

I froze, my fork halfway up to my mouth.

My mind quickly whirling with the possibilities: no car explosions, no fire bombings, no shootings, no threats, no dead bodies, no rolling in garbage. What was Grandma talking about?

'I heard that Mrs Karolisky-'

'No one wants to hear about Mrs Karolisky, Grandma!' I said hastily.

Ranger smiled slightly, 'I wouldn't mind hearing about Mrs Karolisky.' I sent him a death glare, and his smile widened slightly.

'Well,' Grandma began, 'I heard that she was real snarky about you living with Stephanie and called you a 'big black man'. And Stephanie said you were more mocha latte and way more delicious than Mrs Karolisky's fat and ugly, balding husband. Then Stephanie called Mrs Karolisky fat and ugly too. And then she shot Mrs Karolisky in the foot.'

'I did NOT shoot her in the foot!' I protested. 'I didn't have ammo.' I added under my breath.

'But you called her fat and ugly?' My mom asked.

'She called Ranger black and she meant it in a bad way. And she said I was going to hell.'

'Really?' asked Grandma interestedly.

'Well…no; but she did say I was living in sin, so the hell thing was kinda implied.'

Ranger's hand settled on my neck and I turned to look at him.

'Thank you for defending me.' He said seriously, and then he kissed me lightly.

'Sure.' I said smiling. I'd kick a hundred Mrs Karolisky's asses if he looked at me like that.

And for the rest of dinner Ranger held my left hand in his right. Which meant I could eat ok, but he was probably finding it hard.

But he didn't let go.

And I hoped he never would.


	8. Dancing

_let me know what you think! – Heather x_

**Sleepless in Trenton**

Chapter 7

After dinner at my parent's, Ranger and I drove back to our apartment and settled on the couch, listening to Norah Jones's first album and talking about our day. I was sitting next to Ranger, with my legs resting over his legs, and his hand was holding my hand - his thumb running light circles over my palm.

'Did you get into trouble over the meeting?' I asked.

'No, an advantage of being the boss…but the guy I was meeting was a bit pissed.' Ranger shrugged slightly, 'he got over it.' He smiled, 'But the boys gave me some stick later.'

'Aww, poor Baby, what did they say?'

A smile tugged at Ranger's lips, 'they called my whipped, Babe.'

I tried to squash my smile, 'what did you say?'

'I glared and told them to shut up or I'd put them on the midnight stakeout shift everyday for the next month.' Ranger grinned suddenly, 'They were much nicer after that.'

'Do they know?' I asked curiously.

'Know what?'

'That I've been having nightmares and stuff.'

Ranger paused. 'When I was in Boston I asked them to keep an eye on you. They noticed you were looking tired, and as the days progressed and you started looking exhausted, they debated whether to call me or not. Eventually the decided not to call me, because I would only be away for a few more days, and instead they assigned someone to watch over you in case a skip tried anything when you were tired. I haven't told them about the nightmares, but they probably guessed.'

'Oh.' I said, 'wait! I didn't see anyone.'

Ranger smiled fractionally, 'you're not supposed to, Babe.'

I sighed, 'I always get made when I'm on stakeout.'

Ranger smiled, 'want me to give you a crash course?'

'Yeah, that'd be cool.'

'Ok, well first of all you need the right car for the right area.'

'Like the American car for my dad?'

Ranger grinned, 'Yeah. So, if you're in a wealthy area of town you need a Beemer or a Merc. If you're in the suburbs you need a VW or a mom van. If you're in Stark street, you need a POS car with vandalism all over it and bent fenders.'

'Makes sense.' I agreed.

'Whichever car you have, if you have time, then you want to leave the car parked there a few times with no one in it. Park it in slightly different positions across the street, but on the other side of the road to the one your skips on. That way people get used to seeing it without really knowing that they're getting used to it. Then when you're doing surveillance in the car, no one will think anything of it, and you won't get made. It probably helps if you don't have a plus size black woman in aluminous spandex with you.'

'Actually, she wears biker leathers on stake out.'

'Good to know.' Ranger said, smiling.

The locks on the front door started tumbling open and Ranger and I both stood and drew our guns.

It was Morelli.

I was torn between relief it wasn't a skip, and anxiety that it was Morelli.

He had his hands up.

I wondered why, and then I realised we were still pointing our guns at him. I put my gun down and Ranger followed suit, clicking the safety on. Ranger sat back down, and I automatically sat on his lap. Ranger's arms encircled my waist possessively.

Joe didn't say anything, he just sat down on the armchair, looking at us.

'What's he doing here?' Joe asked me, ignoring Ranger.

I glanced at Ranger, silently telling him to respond. 'I live here.' Ranger said, face blank, giving away nothing; except to me: I could still tell he was tense, and not happy to see Joe. I guess Ranger didn't know I'd chosen him.

'You what?' Joe asked softly.

'I live here.' Ranger repeated, meeting Joe's gaze head on.

'You screwing her?'

'Nice Joe, real nice.' I said sarcastically.

He ignored me, waiting for Ranger's response.

'That's between Stephanie and myself.' Ranger said.

Joe looked between us, from one to the other, noting our automatically entwined bodies.

'Are we done?' Joe finally asked me.

'As a couple? Yes. As friends? I hope not.'

Joe's jaw clenched, and then he nodded. 'I heard you had nightmares. They getting better?'

I turned to Ranger, 'I thought I was doing really well, I thought I was being sneaky and no one knew I had nightmares! But everyone knew!'

'Hard to keep your exhaustion a secret Babe, and you were dead on your feet.'

'True.' I said; still feeling a little deflated that everyone knew.

Ranger's lips twitched, 'Don't worry about it Babe, you're an excellent liar.'

'But _you _alway_s_know when I lie!'

'Yeah.' Ranger shrugged, 'But I'm Batman.'

'I didn't know Batman was especially good at detecting lies…'

'It's a little known fact.' Ranger asserted, straight faced.

I couldn't help it; I burst into giggles.

Ranger smiled, 'feel better?'

'Yeah,' I smiled back, 'thanks.' Then I gave him a kiss on the lips.

'Sure.'

Joe was staring at Ranger like he had an extra head. 'Did you make a joke?' He asked incredulously.

'It's a little known fact that Ranger has a sense of humour.' I said, straight faced.

'Wiseass.' Ranger muttered.

Joe was staring at both of us. 'Shit.' He said.

'What?' I asked.

'Are you always like this when you're together?'

'Like what?' I asked.

'So…' Joe shrugged, and then sighed. 'You fit.' He said reluctantly.

I didn't know what to say to that, out of all the things I expected him to say, that hadn't even made the list; shouting, ranting, raving; sure - this weird kind of acceptance; never.

Joe followed the thought across my face, 'I love you Cupcake. Always will.' Rangers arms tightened around me, 'But I don't think we have the 'forever' type of love. I want you to be happy. If that means you shacking up with Rambo…who apparently has a sense of humour, then I'll accept it.'

I stared at him, shocked.

'I met this woman in DC.' Said Joe, smiling suddenly. 'I like her. I've been offered a post in DC, I came back here to see if we could salvage things between us, and then if not, well…I like DC.'

'If that's where you want to go, then I'm happy for you Joe. And I'm rooting for you with the girl.'

Joe grinned, 'her name's Sarah, she's a primary school teacher.'

'Is she a bottle blonde?' I asked.

Joe blinked in surprise, 'No. She's a brunette.'

'Good.' I said firmly, 'glad to see you haven't lost your excellent taste in women.'

Joe grinned at me. 'Definitely not. I think you'd like her – someone tried to mug her and she hit them over the head with a spade.'

I laughed, 'a spade? I'll have to remember that.'

'Oh god.' Joe said to Ranger, 'I'm giving her ideas.'

Ranger grinned, 'I'll keep her away from spades.'

'Good deal.' Said Joe, nodding.

'Hey!' I protested.

'All joking aside, how are the nightmares?'

'Not good.' I said softly, not meeting Joe's eyes.

'She had another one last night.' Ranger said.

'You talked to someone about them?' Morelli asked

'No.' I said firmly.

'I think you should consider it. If they haven't gone away in a month by themselves, then they're probably not just going to disappear.'

'Ranger?' I asked, 'what do you think?'

'When I joined the army I saw the counsellor about the gang bloodbath.'

I nodded, knowing he was referring to the street war between the Fights and the Hounds when he was younger. 'Did you have nightmares?' I asked.

Ranger nodded slowly.

'About Falry?' I asked.

He nodded again.

'You couldn't have ended it any other way. Dog wouldn't listen, and you had to protect your gang and Crys and Danielle.'

Joe looked incredibly curious, but he kept his questions to himself.

Ranger sighed, 'I know. But at the time it was no consolation.'

'Did it help? Talking to the counsellor about it?'

'Yeah Babe, it helped.'

'So you think I should see a shrink too?'

'Not a shrink. A counsellor. I think Joe's right, this hasn't gone away by itself Babe, and last night was a bad one, you were trembling for an hour afterwards.'

I sighed. 'Fine, if you both think I should talk to someone, then I will.'

Ranger smiled, 'Good.'

'Good.' Said Joe. 'Can I talk to you privately?' Joe asked Ranger.

Ranger nodded and gently lifted me off him so he could get up. Ranger turned to me, 'no eavesdropping, Babe.'

I opened my eyes wide, 'would I?' I asked, eyelashes fluttering.

'Definitely.' Ranger smiled.

The men disappeared into the hallway and I sat on the couch, sitting on my feet, trying to resist the urge to dash to the door and listen. They came back in nearly ten minutes later.

'No black eyes.' I noted.

'Kidney jab.' Ranger said, blandly.

I narrowed my eyes at him and his lips twitched, letting me know he was teasing me. I rolled my eyes.

Joe grinned. 'Good luck,' he said to Ranger. 'Night Steph. I'll see you before I leave for DC, and then I'll let you know my address and everything.'

I nodded, 'thanks Joe. Take care, ok?'

He nodded and left.

I turned to Ranger, 'so?' I asked.

'So?'

'So what was all that about?'

Ranger said smiling slightly, 'macho crap. Don't worry about it.'

I sighed, he wasn't going to tell me.

Ranger clicked off the main lights in the living room and turned on the lamp, then he went to the CD player and skipped some songs until it reached the one he wanted, and then he turned up the volume. The strains of Norah Jones's 'I've got to see you again' filled the darkened room.

Ranger offered his hand to me, 'Will you dance with me Stephanie?' He asked me in a strangely formal manner.

'I'd love to.' I replied, taking his hand.

He drew me up into his arms, holding me closely. We swayed gently to the music, my head resting on his shoulder.

It wasn't quite dancing by candlelight, but it was close.


	9. Miami

**More will be forthcoming soon, but please let me know what you think! - Mcshnee**

**Sleepless In Trenton**

Chapter 8

Two more weeks flew by. Ranger's been to dinner at my parent's five times; that's way more than Joe – he refused to go more than once a week. Each time Ranger came, he was driving a different American car, wearing a different suit, and he always brought flowers. Ranger was, very subtly I'm sure, showing off his wealth.

The last time we visited, Ranger and my dad disappeared together; ostensibly to work on dad's 'hot rod', but when they emerged two hours later, both of them were still dressed immaculately with no trace of grime or oil…but they did both smell faintly of cigars.

I glanced at mom; she just rolled her eyes and didn't call them on it. So I followed suit. Until later on that evening when Ranger and I were alone.

'So?' I asked.

'So?' Ranger replied.

'How were the cigars?'

Ranger smiled, 'good thanks.'

I rolled my eyes, but didn't question him further. I'm not sure I want to know what my dad and Ranger talked about. Cars probably.

'Not just cars.' Ranger Esp'd.

Now I was curious. 'What else?'

'He asked me if I had any Italian ancestry at all. And I said my great great great uncle was Italian. Your dad nodded and said, 'knew there had to be some Italian in there somewhere.' Then he asked if I could speak Italian, I said I could, and then he conducted the rest of the conversation in Italian.' Ranger paused, smiling, 'Then he started teaching me some Italian traditions.'

I squinched my eyes shut; ugh, only I could have such an embarrassing family! 'Sorry.' I muttered.

'Don't be, it was fun.'

I opened my eyes, 'really?' I asked, not believing him.

Ranger smiled, 'Really.' And then he leaned forward to kiss me.

'Nuh uh.' I said pulling away, 'not before you change out of your smoky clothes and brush your teeth.'

He sighed slightly, smiling, and then he got up and disappeared into our bedroom. A few minutes later I heard the shower start to run. I put Damien Rice in the CD player and snuggled down on the couch, covered in Ranger's fleece blanket, and waited for Ranger to return.

Fifteen minutes later and I heard the door open. Ranger walked out, clad only in a towel, with the water droplets still glistening on his body and his wet hair dripping onto his broad shoulders. He walked nonchalantly to the fridge and got out a bottle of water. He unscrewed the cap, raised the neck of the bottle to his lips, and tipped the bottle back; pouring the water down his throat, strong muscles in his neck rippling as he swallowed.

I gaped at him, who knew someone drinking water could be so sexy?

Ranger put the empty bottle in the trash and turned back to me, smiling. 'Like what you see?' He asked.

'Yes.' I answered, my throat tighter and my voice lower than normal.

He walked towards me, and I used my superpowers to try and make the towel drop. But it didn't.

Lousy superpowers.

Ranger laughed softly, and I wondered how the hell he knew what I was thinking? Then I realised I was staring fixedly at the towel…yeah, that'd give it away.

He stopped as he reached the couch. He bent down and retrieved something from behind the couch.

He handed me the hairbrush, 'Brush my hair?' he asked. I nodded and he sat between my legs.

His hair was in perfect condition, and it was easy to draw the brush through his hair, but I brushed it until it was dry. Then I put the brush down and started rubbing Ranger's shoulders, firmly easing the tension from Ranger's body. Guess those college massage lessons came in handy.

When his body was relaxed and supple in my hands, I brushed the hair from his neck and kissed him lightly there. Then, tasting the waster droplet there, I reached out with my tongue and licked the moisture off. Ranger moaned, so I did it again, and again, working my way up and down his neck.

Ranger held himself still; as if he was afraid a movement from him would scare me away. I twisted out from behind him, and pushed him into the couch, then I straddled his towel-covered lap and met his eyes. The pupils were dilated with desire, and I smiled in satisfaction. Then I leaned down and licked the water droplet from his nipple. He groaned again, and I performed the same act on his other nipple. I looked up at him again, and then I kissed him.

Over the past two weeks Ranger and I have shared a lot of kisses; some hot, some tender, some sweet, some sexy – but all of them were good. As we seemed to have restricted ourselves to just kissing, we both got a lot of practice at it; and now we could easily turn the other on with a simple kiss, both of us knowing now exactly how to turn the other into a puddle of mush.

Ranger pushed his body into mine as I kissed him with silk and fire, and through the towel I could feel the effect I was having on him; Lord knows the man effects me that way on a regular basis.

His hands were stroking up and down my arms, sending tingles down my body.

He drew back reluctantly, 'I should get dressed babe.' He said regretfully.

I nodded, mentally cursing the 'no sex' rule.

Ranger smiled ruefully at me, 'I'm not particularly enjoying that rule either Babe. But I'm not taking advantage of you whilst you're still not one hundred percent ok. So we'll just have to grit our teeth and bear it.'

Yeah. Or masturbate.

Ranger burst out laughing, his whole body shaking, 'That too.' He gasped.

I blushed bright red.

Ranger kissed me on the forehead and went to the bedroom to change, grinning the whole way there. He emerged a few minutes later in combats, but with no shirt; it's my favourite of Ranger's outfits. Except maybe the towel…I think the towel just shot up to the number one position.

Ranger sat next to me on the couch, automatically taking me into his arms. We lay under the blanket, in each others arms, letting the sound of the music wash over us.

'This is going to completely destroy the mood,' Ranger warned, 'But how did your visit with Sandra go?'

Sandra was my shrink. Counsellor. Whatever. I've been to see her three times now, and as reluctant as I am to admit it, I think it's helped. Ranger organised it for me, he even insisting on paying – he really doesn't have too, my bank balance has really fleshed out these past few months: especially as Sally shared his ten big ones with me.

'Not too bad, thanks. I think it's helping.'

'Good.' Ranger said, kissing the shell of my ear.

'Ranger?'

'Yeah Babe?'

'If the nightmares stopped, would you go live somewhere else?'

I felt his body tense 'Do you want me to?' he asked softly.

'You know I don't.' I said, my voice low. 'But I don't know if you…what…I don't-'

'Babe.' Ranger sighed, tightening his arms around me. 'We fit. I won't walk away from that…I won't walk away from you.'

'So, what am I to you?' I asked. A girlfriend? A friend? A lover?…

'You're mine.' Ranger said.

I was about to protest about women's lib and slave labour, when he carried on, 'And I'm yours.' He finished.

'All mine?' I asked, a smile turning up my lips.

'All yours.' Ranger agreed. 'Exclusively.' He qualified.

'Lucky me.' I breathed, and I leaned forward to kiss him…

But his cell rang.

I sent the phone death rays, hoping it would explode…or maybe just run out of batteries; whatever works.

'This is why my lifestyle doesn't lend itself to relationships.' Ranger muterred. Then he answered the phone with a series of grunts that I tuned out.

'Babe?'

'Hmm?' I asked.

'That was my dad, he wants me to fly to Miami.'

'Why?'

'Katrina's a model; her agent informed her today that she may have a stalker. He sifts through her fan mail, and he noticed a few threatening letters, but he didn't think it was serious enough to worry her about. But now the threats have turned nastier, so he decided to inform her. Trina's a trooper, but something freaked her out enough that she cancelled a big photo shoot. Dad wants me to come and help find the psycho.'

'Are all Manoso's good looking?' I asked. Trust me to fixate on that.

Ranger blinked, 'pretty much.' He said. 'So…either I go to Miami or I just let Tank deal with it.'

'You have to go.' I said, 'she's your sister.'

'Yeah, but I don't want to leave you because you'll have nightmares.'

'I coped for two weeks without you.' I pointed out, 'I can deal with it.'

'Yeah, you can deal with it, but it's not a nice experience for you in any way. No, I won't leave you. But I have an idea.'

'Oh?'

'You could come to Miami with me, you can help; you have lots of psycho experience. You could be an inconspicuous bodyguards for my sister; just another model, hanging out.'

I burst out laughing, 'No one in a million years would believe I'm a model!'

'Why not?' Ranger frowned.

'Because, I'm not pretty enough, or skinny enough!'

'Babe, you've been running everyday for a couple of months; you're body's slim and toned. And you are defiantly pretty enough to be a model. You're beautiful.'

'You only think that because you're looking at me through rose coloured glasses.' I said, rolling my eyes, though I guess he's right about the slim and toned thing.

He turned to me, his expression bordering on Ranger's version of incredulousness, 'You really believe that, don't you?'

I shrugged, concentrating on the spot over his shoulder.

'Babe, look at me. You're stunning. You're gorgeous. You're amazing. You don't know this?'

'You're just saying that, don't worry Ranger I'm not fishing for compliments, I know I'm nothing special.'

'Nothing special?' he repeated, staring at me. 'Steph, Babe, how can you think that?'

I was about to mumble something when his cell rang again. Ah ha, _saved_ by the bell this time. Maybe the phone shall not mysteriously die.

'Babe, this conversation is not over.' Ranger promised. Then he answered his phone.

I swear all that grunting and ugging is men reverting back to apehood. Man protect woman. Ugg.

Ranger finished his monosyllabic conversation and turned to me.

'That was Andy; he's taken leave to help Trina. He thinks everyone else is doing the same, and we're all meeting, and staying, at my parent's house. Do you want to go to Miami?'

'You won't go without me?'

'No.' Ranger said firmly.

'Then I'd love to go to Miami.' I answered.

Ranger smiled, 'Thanks Babe.' Then he pulled out his cell and started barking instructions into the phone.

'Go pack your bad-ass clothes as well as some jeans, nice dresses and stuff.' Ranger instructed me between calls, 'We'll buy anything you forget in Miami.'

I nodded and started to pack. Shoving clothes into my huge suitcase. My bad-ass clothes, as Ranger called them, had been purchased a few weeks ago when I'd complained to Ranger that I didn't intimidate any of my FTA's. He'd grinned at me, and then he took me shopping.

I brought seven pairs of combats; five black, one sand camouflage, and one forest camouflage. Then we brought some black stretchy tops and a two leather jackets. I brought another pair of CAT boots, and a pair of black kick ass knee-high boots with stiletto heels and pointy toes. Ranger raised his eyebrow at the boots. 'What?' I'd replied.

'Babe. Can you run in them?'

'Absolutely.' I'd replied.

'Fine. If you can wear them running tonight, then I'll pay for them.'

Good deal – the boots were nearly $500, but damn they were kick-ass.

I'm a girl from Jersey, and if there's one thing we can do, besides make-up and cussing; it's running in heels. It's a skill all women need, but few have; most of the women that can do it live in Jersey.

After our run Ranger wordlessly handed me the cash.

And he didn't complain about the boots again.

Two hours later and I was packed and sitting on a private jet. The interior was plush leather corporate décor. Nice.

Taking up the seats opposite me where Tank, Lester Santos and Bobby Brown.

'Who's running Trenton Rangeman?' I asked Ranger, who was seated next to me.

'The guy who runs Miami Rangeman. I'll be running Miami while I'm there, so he's coming down here to handle things.'

'Oh.'

I paused, sitting there with Will Smith's song 'Miami' playing in my head.

'Ranger?' I asked.

'Yeah Babe?'

'Are we nearly there yet?'

'Babe.' Ranger said, shaking his head.

Lester grinned, 'This is going to be fun.'


	10. Click your heels for home

_Sorry for the huge wait, I kinda...forgot... forgive me? Let me know what you think!_  


Chapter 9

'Uh oh.' I gulped, 'you called me no fun when I said that I didn't like getting shot or arrested. I'm not sure I like your idea of fun.' I said to Lester.

Lester's grin widened, 'you get used to it.'

'Shit.' I said to Ranger.

He grinned at me. No help there.

* * *

Eventually the plane touched down on a private airstrip just outside Miami. Ignoring the men's protestations, I got changed in the toilets; if they were going to be all-dressed-in-black-bad-asses, then so was I. I tugged on a pair of my black combats and my gorgeous kick-ass boots. I was already wearing a black T-shirt, so I put my shiny new glock in the waistband of my pants and covered it with one of my leather jackets. I tied back my unruly hair into a ponytail and then started on make-up. I applied grey eye shadow to my eyelids, which emphasised the blue of my eyes, some eyeliner, and some lip-gloss to make my lips look extra kissable. Suffice to say I was satisfied with the results; hot but bad-ass.

I walked out of the toilets, noting the arrival of Cal, Hal and Junior.

Lester whistled, 'Damn Beautiful, you look great.'

'Do I look like I could kick-ass?' I asked.

'Definitely.' Lester laughed. Bobby and Tank nodded agreement, smiling.

'Cool.' I said.

'Can you run in those heels?' Bobby asked, frowning in concern.

'Can I run in these boots Ranger?' I asked, smirking slightly.

'She can run in them.' Ranger confirmed firmly. And then he changed the subject before he could be questioned about it, 'Bobby, you're riding shotgun to Hal. Tank you're with Cal. Lester you've got Junior. Steph and I will work together. Questions?'

I put my hand up.

Ranger's lips twitched, 'you don't need to put your hand up Babe.'

'My chemistry teacher gave me seventeen detentions for asking questions without putting up my hand first. I had to write thousands of lines.'

Ranger's smile widened, 'I won't make you do lines Babe.'

'Promise?' I checked.

Ranger nodded.

'Ok.'

'Babe?'

'Yeah?'

'What was the reason you put your hand up in the first place?'

'Oh yeah. I was wondering where Hal, Cal, and Junior came from?'

'They've been working a case which led them to Miami and, rather than farming it out to Rangeman Miami, they chose to follow the leads personally.'

'Won't that interfere?' I asked.

'No Babe, they've finished the case.'

'Oh.'

We walked the short distance to the brand new, black, shiny cars. We all beeped our cars unlocked and climbed in. Everyone had a bronco, except Ranger. Ranger had a BMW. I slid into the shotgun position next to him, inhaling the scent of new leather.

'Yum.' I said.

Ranger shot me an amused glance and cranked over the engine.

Unusually, it was Ranger who broke the silence, 'I'm going to introduce you to my family as a Rangeman employee, ok? I want them to respect you as a professional so that if anything happens then they'll follow your orders too.'

It made sense, 'ok.' I said simply.

'You don't mind?' Ranger asked, looking slightly surprised.

'No. As long as you don't expect me to lie to them.'

'No.' Ranger replied decisively, 'definitely not. And you're still sleeping next to me.'

I smiled at him, my hand settling on his knee, 'good.'

He flashed me the wolf smile and pulled over at the side of the road. He undid my belt and pulled me into his lap, kissing me until I was breathless.

Ranger's cell rang.

'Yo.' Ranger answered.

I could hear laugher on the other side of the phone.

'Just took a break.' Ranger said.

I couldn't make out what the reply was, but Ranger said, 'yeah,' And disconnected.

I raised my eyebrow at him. Ranger smiled, but didn't elaborate on the conversation. So I rolled my eyes and climbed off his lap into my seat. Ranger laughed softly but didn't say anything. He started the car again, and we were off.

It took about half an hour to reach our destination. It was a beautiful three-story house with huge wrought iron gates and an immaculate lawn. Ranger typed some numbers in a little box and the gates started to swing open. One by one we drove in, parking in front of the house.

'This is where you grew up?' I asked.

'Yeah.'

'Nice.'

Ranger nodded.

We swung out of the car and waited for everyone to join us by the front door, then Ranger rang the bell.

The door opened a few seconds later, 'Hello Ricardo,' said a smiling woman in her fifties. Her hair was streaked with grey, but she looked distinguished rather than old, and it was obvious that she'd been a beauty in her youth.

'Maria.' Ranger smiled, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

'And it looks like you brought some…friends.' Maria glanced dubiously at the assorted muscle bound men in black. But despite her slight reservations, she smiled warmly at all of us, 'Come in.' Maria said, in welcome. We trooped inside to the main room.

'Ric!' said a stunning woman, running to him. She was absolutely gorgeous; a female version of Ranger.

Ranger caught Trina easily, 'Hey baby girl.' He said, smiling fractionally.

His brothers came forward, and gave Ranger manly hugs, then Ranger's father stepped forward and clapped Ranger on the shoulder, 'glad you could come.' He said. Ranger nodded and turned towards the Merry Men.

'This is Katrina, Andy, Michael, Dominic, and my father, Carlos.' He said.

We all nodded.

Ranger continued, 'This is my sister's boyfriend, Jack, and Michael's boyfriend, Mark. Questions?'

We all shook our heads.

'Good. Lester, Junior – you're securing the perimeter. Bobby, Hal – you're updating the house's security. Tank, Cal – you're guarding my sister. Steph, you're getting intel with me. Questions?'

We shook our heads again.

'Good. Go to it.' Ranger instructed.

Everyone scattered. I stood by Ranger, unsure what to do.

'Just stay here.' Ranger said in a low voice, so no one else could hear. I nodded minutely.

'Bodyguards?' Trina said incredulously, 'I don't need bodyguards! And how do you know who Jack is? You haven't met him!'

'Actually,' said Jack, 'he has.'

'What?' Trina asked.

'After we'd been seeing each other for a couple of months he came and asked me what my intentions were towards you.' Jack explained.

'WHAT?' She all but screeched, 'Ric – you didn't!'

'Just wanted to check.' Ranger said, smiling slightly.

'You're so…' Trina grit her teeth, searching for the right word.

'Protective?' I supplied.

'Yes!' Trina agreed.

Ranger shrugged. 'You're my baby sister.'

'I'm your only sister!'

'That too.'

Trina sighed and then eyed me, 'Who are you?' she asked.

'Steph.' I replied, doing the Rangeman monosyllabic answer thing.

'She's going to be guarding you too.' Ranger said.

'She looks scary.' Trina said.

'Really?' I asked eagerly, smiling. 'That's so cool! I look scary!'

Trina paused, 'well…not anymore.'

'Oh.' I thought about it, 'was it the smiling or the babbling that gave me away?'

'A bit of both really.' Trina replied, smiling amiably at me.

Ranger ignored the interplay between us, 'you're having bodyguards Trina - deal with it. Now, I'm going to the Church, and you're staying here in the house, ok?'

'Ok.' Trina sighed.

Ranger turned to me, 'I'm going to the graveyard; you can come with or unpack.'

He was going to visit his mother; if I went with him I could watch his back so he could just relax and focus on his prayers to his mother.

I retrieved my gun from the small of my back and checked I had bullets chambered, then I clicked on the safety and put the gun back. 'I'll come with.' I said.

He nodded slightly, his eyes grateful, showing his understanding of the implication of me checking my gun.

Ranger nodded to his family and we left.

Ranger parked the Beemer in front of a florist's, 'Back in a minute.' He said, getting out. Ranger returned with a beautiful bouquet of flowers - he put them in the back and started the car. We drove for a few minutes and we entered what had obviously been, or was, gang land.

Ranger idled at the curb, 'there.' He said; pointing to a building covered in slogans. 'That used to be the Red Fights headquarters.'

I reached over and squeezed his thigh in silent support. Ranger smiled slightly at me and took a deep breath. We stayed there for a few minutes whilst Ranger's thoughts lingered in the past. Then, wordlessly, he turned the car around and started driving again.

Five minutes later we were in a nice neighbourhood, parked in front of a small church. We angled out of the car. Ranger took my left hand in his right, carrying the flowers in his left hand so that I had my gun hand free.

He led me to his mother's grave and he gave my hand a quick squeeze and let go, kneeling down.

I stepped back, giving him space, drawing my gun and surveying the area; being aware of my surroundings just like Ranger had spent the last few weeks patiently teaching me.

Ranger laid the flowers on his mother's grave and splayed his hand against his mom's headstone. He bowed his head.

I waited patiently, guarding over him.

Finally Ranger stood and turned to me. I handed him my gun, and then I knelt beside his mother's grave. The epitaph read: _Roseanna Manoso, Beloved wife and mother_.

_Thank you_, I thought silently. _Thank you for loving him and raising him – for helping him become the man he is today. Thank you for giving him to me. _

I rose slowly and turned back to Ranger, slipping my hand into his. Silently we walked back to the car. Ranger paused at the car, 'Thanks for coming with me.' He said.

'Sure.' I replied.

Even with his blank face on, I could tell he was sad. I stepped close to him, wrapping my arms around him. Ranger held me close - for once I was the one giving the comfort.

Eventually Ranger stepped back, but not before kissing me on my forehead. 'Thanks.' He repeated. I nodded and he handed me my gun back. Ranger opened the door for me, I slid in and we drove back to his parent's house.

'Ranger?' I said, before he unlocked the front door.

'Yeah?' he said, turning to face me.

'She would be proud of you.'

He smiled at me, but his smile was tinged with sorrow, 'I hope so.'

'I know so.' I said firmly.

Ranger smiled properly, 'Thanks Babe.' Then he leaned forward and kissed me lightly.

'Ok?' I asked.

'Ok.' He agreed.

'In that case, let's go get this psycho.'


	11. Of Vendettas and deals

_Sorry I havent updated in a bit - my bad! Enjoy and let me know what you think! minor smut warnings _

Chapter 10

Ranger checked the time, 'It's getting pretty late.' He said, 'You tired?'

It had been a long day; a day of skip-tracing, dinner with my parents, packing, flying to Miami, going to Church. The sky was dark, and the stars shone brightly in the darkened canvas. I hadn't been tired until Ranger pointed it out, but now…

I yawned.

Ranger smiled, 'We'll go get the psycho tomorrow.' He said.

'Wiseass.' I tried to say, still yawning.

'Sexy.' Said Ranger grinning.

I rolled my eyes.

'Wanna go running before bed?' He asked.

I was tired, but my body had gotten used to the running before sleep. 'Yeah, but I don't know the area.'

'I'll come with.' Ranger said simply.

I smiled, 'thanks.'

'Sure.'

Ranger unlocked the door, and I followed him into the main room. The room was full of his family and I felt conscious of their eyes on me as I followed him into what was obviously his bedroom.

I grabbed some clothes from my suitcase, changing into sweats and re-tying my hair. I put on some sneakers, and an ankle holster. I secured my glock.

'Ready?' I asked Ranger.

He nodded, he'd changed into sweats too.

'There's not enough room to stretch out in here.' Ranger said, 'we'll do it out there.' He said, gesturing to the door to the main room.

'But your family will watch!'

'And…?'

I rolled my eyes, 'never mind.'

We went into the area of the living room that was clear and we started stretching out; hamstrings, quads, calves. When I felt that my muscles were warm enough I did my own test to see if they were ready for exercised. I did the splits. Yup, I was ready to go.

I nodded to Ranger and he led the way out to the front of the house.

We ran easily down the suburban streets and then Ranger led us to the park. We ran round the pitch, alternating between a fast sprint and a walk, to build up stamina.

Finally we headed back home, 'First one to the gates gets the shower first.' I challenged.

We set off at a sprint. I overtook Ranger at the last minute, reaching the gates first.

'You let me win!' I accused.

Ranger kissed me on my forehead.

'Eww, don't kiss me there, I'm all sweaty and yicky!'

'I don't care.' Ranger answered. He looked at me with dark eyes, and his tongue snaked out, licking a droplet of sweat from my neck.

I shivered.

'You get first shower.' He smiled. 'But Babe?'

'Yeah?'

'You have to think of me while you shower.'

My breathing hitched and I think my panties just got ruined.

'Deal.' I said thickly.

Ranger smiled, 'Deal.' He agreed, sealing it with a kiss.

Ranger typed in the code and the gates swung open. We walked to the house and warmed-down outside.

We went in and headed for the kitchen, Ranger grabbed two bottles of water and we went to the main room. Everyone was still up.

I checked the time; it was nearly one o'clock. I looked at Ranger and raised an eyebrow; do they not sleep?

Ranger shrugged slightly. I took that to mean that it wasn't usual for them to be awake now, and that he didn't understand either.

I tried to unscrew the water.

It wouldn't open.

I tried again.

Stupid water.

Ranger kept his blank face in place and held out his hand to open the bottle for me. Blank face or not, I could feel his amusement.

I sighed slightly and handed him the bottle. Ranger opened it easily.

I glared at the bottle. It was showing favouritism; sure, it would open for Ranger, but no…not for Steph. The stupid water had a vendetta against me.

I felt a vindictive satisfaction as I drank the water – heh heh heh.

Ranger's lips were twitching, so I glared at him too. His smile widened until it was a grin.

'Cute,' He said.

'I am not CUTE!' I objected vociferously.

Ranger was beaming all 200 watts, 'whatever you say Babe.'

'Damn straight.' I said firmly. 'I'm going to shower.' I turned and headed to Ranger's bedroom, but just before I entered he said, 'Don't forget the deal Babe.'

I blushed bright red, but luckily no one could see my face because I was facing away from them.

My shower was…long.

I felt a lot better after my shower.

I wrapped a towel around me and headed into the bedroom. Ranger was lying on the bed; his eyes were dark as they ran up and down my body. I gathered the towel closer to me.

'Not going to help you Babe.' Ranger said, getting up and closing the distance between us. He licked the droplets of water from my neck, like I had done to him a few hours ago. He carried me to the bed and placed me in the middle of it.

Ranger savoured the beads of water that clung to my body, licking them off me one by one. Shudders of pleasure ran through me. Ranger raised his head from my body; his hands held the edge of the towel and his eyes asked my permission.

I nodded, closing my eyes.

'Look at me.' Ranger instructed.

I opened them, meeting his intense gaze.

Ranger slowly opened the towel, his hot gaze scorching my naked body. His eyes wept up to meet mine, 'you're beautiful Stephanie.'

I smiled, 'Thanks.'

'You still don't believe me.' He said shaking his head, his disbelief obvious. 'Tell me what you don't like about yourself.' He said.

I blinked, 'My eyes are too close together.'

'They're perfectly spaced Steph.'

'My lips are too big.'

'They're full,' Ranger replied, 'kissable.' He breathed, leaning forward and tracing the outline of my lips with his tongue.

I swallowed. 'My breasts are too small.' I managed to say.

Ranger shook his head, and his hands stroked up my ribcage until they cupped my breasts. 'They fit perfectly in my hands.' Ranger said, 'I love your breasts.'

My breathing was a bit erratic.

'My hips.' I tried to say.

'What about them?'

'They're too wide.'

'Babe, they give you an hour glass figure most women would kill for – I love your curves.'

I searched for another fault, 'my legs are too long.'

Ranger laughed throatily, 'your legs can never be too long Babe. They're great.'

'My ass is too big.'

Ranger threw his head back and laughed with his whole body, 'I love your ass.' He gasped out, 'It's the best ass I've ever seen - and you hate it? You win best woman's ass in Trenton every year.'

'I do?' I said incredulously.

'Yeah Babe.'

His hands left my breasts and slid round to grab my booty, squeezing lightly.

'You're not just saying all that stuff?'

'When have I ever lied to you?' he asked.

'Huh.'

Ranger leaned forward, kissing me until I was breathless with need for him. His body was pushed against mine, and I could feel his erection press against me.

'Ranger.' I moaned.

He pulled back, searching my eyes, 'Babe.' He whispered, desire lacing his voice.

'Please.' I begged.

'No sex.' He said.

I groaned and fell back onto the bed.

Ranger's hands slid down my body, my heart almost stopped as his fingers spread my slick folds.

Ranger smiled at the confusion on my face, 'This isn't sex.' He explained as his fingers dipped inside me.

I gasped.

'Not too loud Babe, my family might still be out there.'

I nodded and bit my lip as his fingers started gesturing in a 'come here' motion against my g-spot. 'Here?' he asked. I nodded, unable to speak. Ranger's other fingers started to massage my clit in slow firm circles and I bit back another gasp. 'Like this?' he asked. I nodded again, moaning deep in my throat.

Ranger leaned down, kissing me, whilst his fingers continued to torture me, never pausing or ceasing.

The tightening in my muscles began and my hips shifted off the bed. Ranger's fingers stroked harder against me and I started to tremble.

'Come for me Babe.' Ranger whispered against my lips.

His words pushed me over the delicious abyss, and his mouth swallowed my cries of pleasure. His fingers carried on moving as I came, prolonging my orgasm until I thought it would never stop.

I came back to my body slowly, enjoying the complete relaxation in my slack limbs.

'Babe.' Ranger said huskily, removing his fingers from inside me. I gasped at the loss, and groaned as I watched Ranger licked my juices off his fingers.

He kissed me fiercely, the taste of myself on his lips.

I reached for him but he stopped me.

'Not tonight Babe; you're tired. I'll go shower and then we'll sleep.'

'But that's not fair on you…' I complained.

Ranger smiled, 'don't worry Babe. I'll be ok.' He said, 'I won't be too long.' He promised, disappearing into the bathroom.

I yawned, trying to keep awake until he returned to my side. My eyes were suddenly much heavier.

Ten minutes later Ranger crawled into bed next to me, his hair still damp. He spooned me from behind, slinging an arm around my waist.

'Goodnight Babe.' He whispered.

'Night Ranger.' I whispered back. And with his warmth surrounding me I plunged into sleep.


	12. Trying not to sulk, couple?

_**Apologies for such a long wait! SiT is actually nearly complete, so I thought I'd give you two chapters at once... cos I'm nice like that. Feedback is always appreciated! Heather x **_

Chapter 11

I awoke as the heater at my back got up and crawled out of bed. I glanced blearily at the clock and swore silently when I read the time, 6am.

It's day five on the psycho hunt, and it's not going so well. Every lead we chase up turns up a blank, and the truth is, we're running out of leads.

The worst thing is Ranger's working himself to the bone trying to find the sleaze ball; he's up till 3 or 4 am in the morning and he gets up at 6. Not only is Ranger tired, but as I can't sleep unless he's by my side, I am too.

I haven't complained or said anything because I don't think that it's my place. It's his sister's life on the line; of course he's going to be working nearly 24/7 to keep her safe.

Ranger's been busy co-ordinating the search and running the Miami offices, so I've spent a lot of the past few days doing patrol and security checks with the guys, and I've learnt a lot.

I haven't really interacted with Ranger's family because I've been trying to keep a professional distance. Despite Ranger's plan for me to hang out with Trina as her guard, I've barely spent more than a few hours with her, and I certainly haven't exchanged more than a few words with her.

Trina was a good victim. That doesn't sound right, what I mean is; she does what Ranger tells her to do, if he says 'no, don't go out' – then she doesn't. If it was me, I would've tried to escape the safe house a hundred times already.

But then, the psycho would probably have kidnapped and beaten me by now.

I think Trina's the smart one.

The sad thing is, I'm a little jealous of her. Not because she's stunningly beautiful, or because she's clever, or because she's warm and kind. Nope, I can cope with all those things, what I'm jealous of is the way Ranger spends so much time with her.

It's ridiculous, I know. She's his baby sister that he doesn't get to see that often, and it's not even like it's a social call or a family gathering.

But I'm still jealous.

I push my jealousy down to the heels of my boots, doing denial, ignoring the feelings that I don't like.

The thing is, I miss his arms around me; oh he still holds me so I can sleep, but he doesn't wrap his arms around me when I'm just looking out the window, or touch my arm lightly when he walks past, or twirl my curls around his finger, or…

I miss it all so much.

I miss him asking about my day.

I miss him brushing my hair.

I miss him coming for a run with me.

I miss him.

And it's ridiculous, because he's still here.

Which, in a way, makes it all the worse. If he was gone I could imagine he was thinking of me, dreaming of me, but he's here and I know his thoughts are occupied with his sister and the stalker.

Which makes sense, it's his sister's life on the line; of course he's going to be working nearly 24/7 to keep her safe. But it doesn't matter how many times I tell myself that, it doesn't matter how true I know it is; I'm jealous, and I miss him.

Christ, I'm sulking. It's so pathetic. I rolled my eyes at myself and told myself to get a grip.

Ranger came out of the bathroom fully dressed, hair still damp, and kissed me lightly on the forehead. Then he was gone.

I should be happy he kissed me on the forehead. But it felt cursory, dismissive. Gone were the slow kisses that burned into my heart and my soul. And there had been no repeat or encore of our first night's activities.

I dragged my weary body out of bed and stumbled into the shower. I dried and brushed my hair after, quickly getting dressed. Then I spent half an hour carefully concealing the dark circles under my eyes so Tank wouldn't get worried about me.

Tank had surprised me a lot over these past few days. When it became clear to him that I didn't really know what to do, he paired himself with me and as we walked the perimeter or checked the security, he'd explain in low a voice exactly what we were doing, and why we were doing it.

If the boys teased me, he'd put a firm stop to it, glaring all round. He ran the security of the house with a tight fist, and I didn't doubt that his morals were as loose as they were rumoured to be. Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt that there were some things he wouldn't do; but as far as I could tell, the only absolute moral laws Tank had seemed to be about honour and respect.

Nothing to do with throwing junkies out of windows.

But Tank had apparently decided I was his baby sister. So he took me under his rather large figurative wing and helped me out.

He glanced up at me as I walked into the impromptu office the boys had made. I sat at 'my' seat and Tank nodded to me. Lester got up and went over the new codes for the day, as well as briefing us on the addition of guard dogs, which would be Hal and Lester's responsibility.

One by one we went through our reports, all of us stating that there was no unusual activity to be concerned with.

Tank nodded and we all dispersed; Tank and I were on foot patrol again today.

'You tired?' He asked when we were alone.

'Do I look it?' I asked in mock outrage.

'No. But you haven't been getting a lot of sleep, so you should look tired, but you look like you've slept for twelve hours and you're as fresh as a daisy. But I know you haven't and you're not; so you must be wearing enough make-up to hide the fact that you're more tired than you want to admit.'

Shit, who knew Tank could do such convoluted _make-up­_ logic.

I shrugged.

'Steph,' Tank said seriously, 'If you're tired then there's no shame in that, but I need to know in case it compromises your performance.'

'It won't.' I said firmly.

Tank said nothing and we walked on.

'Steph?'

'Yeah?'

'If you think it is effecting your performance, you will let me know, won't you?'

'Yeah big guy, I'll let you know.'

He nodded, and that was the end of it.

It's three am, and I'm in the 'office'; it's only Tank and me, everyone else is in bed - except Ranger, Trina and Jack, who seem to be arguing in the main room, and Lester and Junior, who are on night patrol.

'I'm calling it a night.' I said to Tank.

I was exhausted, but I'd already gone for two runs tonight to keep me awake, not to mention the four cups of black coffee. I'd seen Tank's mouth tighten as I'd poured cup after cup into my drained body, but he'd said nothing.

'Night Steph.' Tank smiled.

'Night big guy.' I replied.

I wondered down the halls and into the main room - the argument seemed to be full swing, so I slipped into Ranger's bedroom unnoticed.

Ranger must be tired too if he didn't see me, or maybe he'd seen me but was ignoring me.

I shrugged it off and undressed, scrambling into bed, intending to wait up for Ranger.

But my eyes began to close inadvertently, and I soon fell despairingly into what I knew would be a troubled sleep.

**_Ranger's POV_**

'Trina!' I growled, 'stop being difficult; we need to install the security camera's here, here and here so that the whole house is covered.'

'Isn't it enough that I'm surrounded by two of your goons all day long? Isn't it enough that everyone's privacy has been taken away and you have your men stomping around? Why do we have to lose that last tiny bit of privacy?'

I took a deep breath, searching for calm, 'Trina-'

I froze as a familiar piercing scream came from my room, 'Babe!' I ran to my door, wrenching it open, forgetting everything but my Babe.

Her eyes were wide with terror and she was shaking and shivering, tears coursing down her cheeks.

I crossed the small distance between us and gathered her in my arms, holding her close, rocking her back and forth. 'It's all right.' I whispered, 'It's over.'

She continued to sob until eventually she calmed down, and then she tensed in my arms and pushed me away, 'Thanks.' She said stiffly, 'I'm going to get some water.' She pushed me away and walked out.

What the hell?

I followed her soundlessly, standing behind her whilst she drank, in case she needed me. She drained the bottle and binned it, ignoring me, walking back to out room.

I followed her.

'I'm taking a shower.' She informed me coolly, she grabbed something and then disappeared into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

She'd grabbed clothes, why would she do that?

Unless…

Unless she didn't want a repeat performance of the other night when I'd tugged her towel off her.

But she'd enjoyed it – I'd made sure of that. Then why?

I lay back down onto my bed and reviewed my actions for the past few days.

I was not happy with what I found.

I'd been so wrapped up in my family and my sister, and so busy trying to appear coolly detached so she would be respected as a professional, that I'd actually become coolly detached. I hadn't held her simply to hold her in days. I hadn't brushed her hair, or gone on a run with her, I hadn't asked how her day had been.

I hadn't even kissed her.

Shit.

I lay back on my bed, and waited for her to come back out.

**_Steph's POV_**

I came out of the bathroom after twenty minutes, the hot water had pummelled the shaking from my weakened frame, leaving me feeling tired and resigned to another long night.

I stepped out into Ranger's bedroom, Ranger was lying on the bed; he looked up as I walked in.

He patted the space between his legs, I hesitated half a second before sitting. I closed my eyes as I felt him start to ease the tangles out of my hair; taking the time to tame my rats nest.

Eventually the hairbrush stilled, 'I'm sorry.' He said softly.

I shrugged, 'You didn't do anything.'

'Exactly.' He sighed. 'I've been neglecting you Babe.'

I twisted to face him, 'I'm not a puppy Ranger,' I said, more sharply then I intended, 'I can take care of myself!'

His gaze met mine steadily, 'I know. I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't. What I mean is I've been a lousy…' He broke off, hesitating.

'A lousy what?' I asked, my voice rising, 'A lousy friend? Is that what I am?' I shook my head and climbed into bed, turning my back on him. I removed the dressing robe under the sheets, so that I was clad in my nightdress.

'No.' Ranger said, moving closer to me. 'You're far more than that. You're everything to me. I love my family but…you're more important. I'm sorry I haven't made that clear.'

I turned to him, unsure of what to say.

Ranger moved closer still, his warmth pressing lightly against me.

'I'm sorry.' He whispered, and I could see in his eyes that he was. Something inside of me eased.

'It's ok.' I half said, half sobbed.

Ranger held me tightly as I wept quietly. 'I missed you.' I whispered.

'I missed you. I'm sorry.' Ranger breathed back, 'We'll talk more tomorrow, but for now, you should get some sleep.'

I nodded. 'You're tired,' I managed to yawn, 'You sleep now too?'

**_Ranger's POV_**

'You're tired,' she yawned, 'You sleep now too?'

Always, she astounded me; We'd had our first semi disagreement, she was exhausted, and I'd been an ass-hole – but she was still concerned for me, still looking out for me.

'I sleep now too.' I agreed, kissing her on the lips.

I tucked a loose curl behind her ear, and curled my body around hers. In minutes we were both asleep.

* * *

Chapter 12

I awoke feeling more alert than I have done in days. I stretched out lazily, enjoying the warmth that surrounded me. I felt strong arms slip round my waist; I twisted round and smiled up at Ranger.

'Morning.' I said.

'Morning Babe. Better?' Ranger asked.

'Mmm.' I said, stretching luxuriantly again. 'What's the time?'

'Two.'

I looked to the curtains; they were drawn, but the amount of light streaming through them showed that it was definitely two in the afternoon, rather than two in the morning.

'Huh.' I said, surprised that Ranger was still in bed next to me.

'You only sleep when I'm here.' Ranger explained, 'and I slept till twelve anyway.'

'Thanks.' I smiled.

'It's my fault you're this tired anyway.'

I rolled my eyes, 'It's not your fault - I should have said something.'

'Yeah, but I should have noticed you were tired without you having to tell me.'

I sighed, 'can we just agree that it was both our faults?'

Ranger smiled slightly, 'Ok.'

'Ok.' I agreed. 'So…what's happening today? What's left of it anyway.'

'We're taking the rest of the day off.'

'We are?'

'Yeah.'

'Cool.' I paused, 'how come?'

'We've both been working hard, we deserve a break.' Ranger said.

'Works for me.' I shrugged.

'Me too.' Ranger smiled. 'You wanna have a picnic at the park?'

'Yeah, that sounds good!'

'Good. You take a shower, I'll do food.'

I started to lift the covers up, but I was pulled back by Ranger's light touch on my wrist.

I raised my eyebrow at him.

I saw a glimmer of amusement lurking in his chocolate eyes. 'Babe.'

'Yes?'

He shook his head slightly and leaned forward, pressing his lips lightly to mine.

'Is that it?' I pouted.

Ranger's lips twitched, 'I have morning breath.' He explained.

'Me too.' I shrugged. Then I leaned forward and kissed him anyway – with tongue and everything.

Breathless, I pulled back, 'It's ok if you _both_ have morning breath.' I justified it.

'Ah,' Ranger said, smiling all 200 watts, 'that's good to know.'

I flashed him my version of the 200-watt smile, then I sauntered to the bathroom, putting an extra swing into my walk.

I heard Ranger laugh softly behind me, 'Great view.' He commented.

I tossed my hair over my shoulder and fluttered my eyelashes exaggeratedly. Ranger grinned at me, 'Hoochie mama.' He teased.

I laughed all the way to the shower.

Twenty minutes later and I was shaved, cleaned and moisturised.

Some people speed dated; I speed showered. For some, twenty minutes wouldn't be that be speedy, but I'm a girl form Jersey, and we have different standards to the national ideal.

Grandma Mazur had dragged me speed dating a few months after the horse's ass was found buffing the kitchen table with his hairy ass. Suffice to say, it wasn't an experience I'd ever willingly repeat.

It'd much rather rip out my teeth one by one.

But hey, that's just me.

It occurred to me, as I donned my jeans and a pretty blue silk top, that I wouldn't need to date ever again – speedily or otherwise – not now that I had Ranger.

OMG!

What the hell was I thinking?

Ranger and I weren't a couple.

Were we?

I dragged a hairbrush ineffectually through my hair, gazing out the window, my mind whirling.


	13. Click!

**_Small goof: this was supposed to be on the end of the last chapter: _**

I dragged a hairbrush ineffectually through my hair, gazing out the window, my mind whirling.

'Babe.' Ranger said from behind me, 'I smell burning.' He wrapped his arms around me, his chin resting on my shoulder. 'What's the matter?'

I took a deep breath, 'Are we…?' I asked.

'Yeah.' Ranger said simply.

I thought about it, 'Cool.'

'Yeah.' Ranger repeated, smiling. 'Now come on, it's picnic time.'

He took my hand, threading our fingers together like an intricate braid. Ranger led me out to the living room where he picked up a cooler and a blanket; the room was full of people; Rangeman and his family.

'Tank.' Ranger said, 'You're in charge of Rangeman Miami. Lester, security. Bobby, investigation. Questions?'

Everyone shook their heads.

'Good, Steph and I have the day off.' Ranger said firmly.

Then Ranger led me through the crowd, which parted like the Reed Sea before him.

**_There you go! Sorry about that. And here you go, an early xmas treat! Let me know what you think please! Nearly done, a few chapters left to go. _**

Chapter 13

Ranger's a master planner, even with only a few minutes to do so. Our picnic had everything from finger sandwiches to chicken drum sticks to chocolate cake. I didn't ask how he got all the food in such a short time frame – He's Batman, he can do these things.

'Babe.' Said Ranger, smiling, 'I'm not really a super hero.'

'Coulda fooled me.' I replied. I lay down onto the fleece blanket, stuffed like a turkey at Thanksgiving. Ranger stretched out next to me, draping an arm around my waist, and together we basked in the afternoon sun.

With the warmth of the sun throbbing down on me, it wasn't long before I dozed off.

I woke as Ranger's cell rang, loudly and shrilly.

'Sorry.' He grimaced.

'Yo.' Ranger answered his cell. He blew out a sigh of frustration, 'we'll be there in ten.' He hung up and turned to me, 'I'm sorry Babe, Trina got another note.'

I nodded easily, already packing up.

'That everything?' I asked Ranger.

He nodded, pulling me to him. 'This isn't what I planned.' He murmured to me.

'Even the best laid plans can go awry.' I consoled.

Ranger's lips twitched, 'especially when it comes to you, Babe.'

'Is that an insult?' I asked, trying to be indignant.

'Never.' He breathed, his lips grazing against mine. He drew back fractionally, searching my eyes, evidently satisfied with the answer; Ranger kissed me. His hot tongue seared my mouth, teasing and caressing me with molten desire. Our bodies pushed together and I arched my body into him, grinding my hips against him. He groaned into my mouth and I bit his lower lip lightly.

Reluctantly, we pulled back.

'Later.' Ranger whispered with promise.

I nodded; my voice had taken a road trip to Texas, along with my sense of decency – the things I wanted to do to this man…

We walked briskly back to the house, keying in the codes to the gate. Ranger took my hand firmly and we walked to the main room where everyone was gathered.

All eyes swung towards us, and I could see the measuring glances as Ranger's family noticed that we were holding hands.

Ranger raised an eyebrow in question, silently asking Tank where the latest note was. Tank nodded to the table, and Ranger tugged me forward with him to the table, and then he pulled back a chair. Ranger slid into the chair and I slipped easily onto his lap.

The table was covered in notes, at a glance I could tell they were all photocopies, except the new one, which was in a clear plastic envelope so it could be seen and touched without damaging it.

Ranger skim read the latest note, his jaw tightening fractionally.

'Photocopy it, get it checked for prints and analysed to make sure it's the same paper type as before.' Ranger instructed. Tank nodded and got to it.

All the notes were typed in Courier New, an impersonal scratchy font I've never liked, but it was common to all computers with Microsoft Word the world over. No clue there.

I gathered up the notes, they were numbered in the left hand corned to indicate the order in which they were received.

I started with one.

That's always the best place to start apparently.

No grass growing here.

_You're so beautiful, so stunning. If I had you, I would have you until the grave._

_An admirer._

It was creepy, and definitely not pleasant, but it wasn't especially threatening. You couldn't lock someone away for this one, and it was easy to see why Trina's agent wasn't overly alarmed at first. Still, something must have jarred with him or he wouldn't have kept the note.

I picked up the second.

_No one else compares to you; you're all I want, all I need. I will have you._

_An admirer._

Again, it was creepy, but not jail-worthy. No overt threats, just a whole lot of yick.

The third made me frown;

_You will be mine, you will scream my name and you will beg for more._

_A admirer._

This one was a little more sinister. Screaming and begging were good things in some situations…but I didn't get the impression that this was one of them.

Something else was niggling at the back of my mind, but I couldn't identify it.

_I will hold you in your sleep and invade your dreams, until you see nothing but me, want nothing but me._

_An admirer_

Freaky, but less openly sinister than the last note. Something was still niggling, what was it?

I mentally shrugged and picked up the next note.

Ranger touched my arm lightly and I twisted slightly to meet his eyes. He made a slight motion with his head that has come to mean, 'hop off my lap a second, I need to get up to do something'…or something to that effect.

So I stood up off of Ranger and he got off the chair, gesturing for me to sit and continue.

Ranger returned a second later with a bottle of opened water, handing it to me. I hadn't even realised I was thirsty, but now, with the water in front of me, I was actually feeling pretty dehydrated.

I gulped down half the bottle and handed it back to Ranger, nodding my thanks. He nodded back, finishing the water. He tossed the bottle aside and came to stand behind my chair, his hands rested on my shoulders for a minute and then they started rubbing gently on my tense shoulders. I made a happy noise, letting him know I was grateful, and then I turned back to the notes.

I read through all the notes, all nine of them. By the end I was frowning and the niggle was niggling in a very annoying way. I wanted to yell at the niggle, either speak up or shut up, but it did neither and it continued to do it's thing, niggling away.

I was completely aware of the oppressive silence of the room, everyone was watching me, saying nothing. Very considerate of them to be quiet – except I'm a noise person, and all this quiet is doing my head in, I need talk, I need music, anything but this heavy silence that covers me like a cloak of ermine.

Ranger's hands squeezed my shoulders briefly and he slipped away into our room. He returned a moment later carrying something in his hand; it was a CD. He slipped it into the CD player and The Killers blared out of the speakers.

He knows me so well.

I flashed him a smile and made a 'turn it up' gesture. He increased the volume and I smiled happily.

_©__Coming out of my cage, _

_And I've been doing just fine._

_Gotta, gotta be down because I want it all._

_It started out with a kiss,_

_How did it end up like this?_

_It was only a kiss.__It was only a kiss._

I let the music wash over me; probably damaging my ear drums, but hey, by the time I'm old enough to need a hearing aid I figure they'll have some medical revolution and an injection will solve my problem. Probably I'm being optimistic. Or unrealistic.

I prefer optimistic.

The music thrummed through the room and I relaxed. _Now_ I can think.

I decided to follow my instincts, so I read through the notes again and then I placed them in either the left pile or the right pile with no reasoning or contemplation, just gut instinct.

I read through the left pile; I'd put notes 1, 2, 4, 7 in it. The right pile had notes 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9 in it.

Hmm.

I read through them again, comparing them and trying to work out why my subconscious had divided them like this.

And then,

Click!

I smiled triumphantly at Ranger.

A slow smile curved across his luscious lips, 'You worked something out.' He stated.

My smile widened and I nodded, 'Yup.' I said, but I didn't elaborate.

'You gonna tell me?' Ranger asked, his lips twitching slightly.

'Maybe. Will you buy me a donut?' I teased lightly.

'Boston Cream?'

'Deal.'

'Deal.' Ranger agreed, 'spill it Babe.'

* * *

Chapter 14

'Ok.' I said to Ranger, 'come here.'

Ranger stepped closer, looking at the notes over my shoulder.

'This pile,' I said, indicating the pile on my left, 'doesn't have any actual threats. It's all implied, by mentioning the grave etc. And mostly its just plain old creepy. However, the right pile has _actual_ threats. But the notes don't go from not-quite-threatening to threatening in chronological order. What does that say to you?' I asked Ranger.

He thought about it, 'we're dealing with a psycho with split personalities?'

'I considered that. But look,' I pointed to the 'signature' on the right pile and the 'signature' on the left pile.

_An admirer._

_A admirer._

'So?' Ranger asked.

'It's the same on all the notes on each pile. You've got two psycho's; one who knows not to make direct threats and knows his grammar, and one that doesn't know not to make threats, or doesn't care about going to jail, and doesn't have such great grammar. I'm pretty sure that grammar ability doesn't alter between personalities, it's like singing – either they both can do it, or neither can.' I shrugged. 'Two guys.' I concluded.

'Shit.' Ranger said conversationally, 'Anything else?'

'They're obviously working together; there's a whole load of fonts to choose from and they both happen to choose the same one, with the same size, approx same message length, same paper, same writing position, and a virtually identical 'signature'? I don't think so.'

I shook my head, 'No, there are at least two of them, and they want you to think there's only one.'

'Fabulous.' Trina said sarcastically, 'I have two psycho's after me.' Her boyfriend, Jack, stepped closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, giving comfort.

'There's more.' Ranger stated, reading me at a glance.

'Yeah.' I agreed, sighing, 'I've had a fair amount of stalker/psycho experience, and this just doesn't fit.'

I turned to Trina, 'I don't think you have two psycho's after you.'

'What?' Trina said, confused. 'But you just said-'

'I said the letters were written by two separate people, who were working together. I'm just not sure that they're stalking you.'

Trina still looked confused so I explained further, 'When I have psycho's after me they all act a bit differently but there's always a common theme within their stalking. This guy Ramirez, he was all about respecting 'the champ' and women's inferiority to men. And this wacko Clyde was all about 'The Game' and the prey and the hunt and the fear. Abruzzi dressed his men up as Rabbits and Bears and President Clinton and Nixon, and he was gonzo over medals and battles…'

I took a deep breath, pushing away Slayer memories, 'The point is they all have veins of something running through their stalker-actions - a theme. These notes don't. There's no flowers, no pictures, no common message. Nothing. It's like these people are playing at being stalkers, but don't know the finer points of what's expected of them, and so they're just fumbling through. In which case, they're not _really_ stalking you; they just want you to _think_ they're stalking you.'

'Why?' Trina asked, perplexed.

I shrugged, 'I don't know. But if I had to guess…I'd say they were after another one of the Manosos and they needed to draw them to Miami. Everyone's protective of younger siblings, especially younger sisters; of course they would come to your rescue. But that raises the question of who are they really after?'

'This isn't good.' Ranger said, rubbing a hand across his face, 'At least if Trina's the target then we know who we have to defend. But if we don't know who the target is…' He shook his head in frustration.

Ranger got out his cell and dialled, 'Yo. I want to know anything you have on two people with a grudge against any of the Manosos or their extended family. Probably they've only just come into town.' He listened for a second then disconnected. Then he started dialling again.

Andy had his cell out and was doing the same, calling around, calling in favors.

The room was still as everyone called in favors left, right, and centre; trying to find information.

I just hoped I was right.

It was definitely not a good situation to be wrong in.

Ranger read the thought on my face, 'don't worry, we'll keep guards on Trina in case you're wrong.'

I nodded, reassured. 'And the rest of you?'

'Rangeman Miami will help secure the location, and none of us will leave the house without two guards.'

'Including you?'

'I don't need guards Babe.'

I got up off the chair and turned to him, my hands resting on my hips, my eyes narrowed.

Ranger met my eyes for a second, then he nodded, 'I'll have guards too.'

'And you will keep them on you at all times when you're leaving the premises?'

He sighed, 'Babe.'

'You promise not to try and lose them?'

He hesitated.

'Ranger.' I said in level voice.

He sighed again, 'Yeah Babe, I promise.'

'Thank you.'

Ranger closed the distance between us, wrapping his arms around me. 'I'd do anything for you Babe,' he whispered softly, 'swallowing a little bit of macho pride so you can feel better is a fairly small thing to ask for.'

I smiled up at him, 'anything?'

'Anything.' Ranger confirmed.

'Cool. How bout that Boston Cream?'

Ranger burst out laughing, 'Only you.'

When he'd recovered Ranger handed some money to Tank, 'get Steph her trans-fat filled donut.'

'You could buy me two donuts, if you wanted to big guy.' I said to Tank.

Ranger shook his head in resignation.

Tank grinned at me, 'Sure thing, Steph.'

I smiled at gratefully at Tank, then I stepped back into Ranger's arms. They tightened around me, holding me close. I nuzzled into his neck, breathing in the exclusive scent of Ranger. Yum.

Ranger's arms and his warmth comforted me; the truth is I'm a little bit scared; there was still the slight possibility the psycho's were after Ranger – and just the thought of losing him filled me with a terror that far surpassed anything the Slayers had induced into me. My heart was clenching painfully and my chest felt tight.

'It's ok.' Ranger murmured to me, his hands stroking my back, easing the tension from my body.

I nodded, 'I know.' I replied.

But I think we both knew we were lying.

* * *


	14. Dreams

_Sorry it's been so long! Hope you enjoy! xhx _   


Chapter 15

The sun dipped low in the sky and the night rolled around with no new information forthcoming.

Ranger's family had been sending me speculative glances all evening, talking in low voices amongst themselves, but I'd been talking with the Merry Men, so they hadn't had the opportunity to accost…ahem…talk to me.

It was fairly early for me to go to bed, but I was already tired; my long sleep the night before hadn't instantly rejuvenated me as it did in fairy tales. Stupid fairy tales – I should get them to print a retraction, or sue them for false _sleep advertising_ or something…

I yawned and Ranger shot me a concerned look, 'tired?'

I nodded, but shrugged, 'don't worry about it yet.'

He frowned but nodded, trusting my judgement. He pointed to the couch and we sat on it, snuggling against each other. Though I'm pretty sure Ranger would object to calling it 'snuggling' - more 'macho shit'.

He skim read some reports whilst I lay against him, but it wasn't long before my tired body sunk into sleep.

The black Hummer came out of nowhere, swerved around me and pulled in front. I leant on my horn and reached for my gun. I did all the things I knew I was supposed to do, but it didn't matter. In seconds I was yanked out of my car and dragged to the back of the Buick, the trunk was open and I was shoved in. The world went black.

_The gun had fallen out of my pocket in the scramble, and I couldn't get out of the trunk of the car. I was twisted in the fetal position, I kicked at the trunk and started yelling; maybe someone would hear me at the intersections._

_The car stopped and the trunk opened, I was yanked out and dragged to the centre of the playground, there was a circle drawn on the ground and inside the circle was a big guy, his face lost in the shadow of his hooded sweatshirt. Junkman._

'Please no, make it stop, make it stop, Ranger, where are you?'

'_This is the circle where we try the enemy,' he said. 'If you're not a member, you're the enemy. We already disposed of three of the enemy. This is your night. Are you the enemy?'_

I said nothing.

'Babe, it's ok, it's ok. Babe?'

_Ranger was here, I glance round looking for him. 'Ranger?'_

'Babe. Please. Wake up.'

Wake up? What was he talking about? The terror was running through me, making my thoughts jumbled and lost. Probably the 'wake up' thing was a reference to my surroundings, 'wake up and be more aware of your surroundings.' There, that made sense. I tried to be more aware, I knew Ranger was here, I could virtually smell him – I just had to find him.

_Junkman turned towards me, drawing his gun._

'_Ranger!' I screamed in fear. Where was he?_

'Babe! Please.' Ranger begged, sounding more distraught then I've ever heard him sound.

But Ranger's words drew Junkman's gaze to him, and Junkman's gun swung in Ranger's direction…BANG! BANG! BANG! Three shots rang out and Ranger slowly dropped to his knees, before toppling to the ground. I screamed and ran to him, throwing myself down next to him.

_Ranger's once warm eyes were cold and distant, locked on something I couldn't see, 'Ranger?' I whimpered._

_And like a cruel joke I could almost hear him say, _'Please Babe…' _But I knew I couldn't possibly be hearing those words, because Ranger's body was lifeless next to me._

_It hit me harder than any physical blow – Ranger was dead._

_Agony, like nothing I could ever describe, struck my heart, into my very core. Ranger was dead and gone. My heart shattered into a thousand fragments and I screamed his name in despairing anguish._

I sat bolt upright. Ranger's arms were wrapped tightly around me, and one thought flooded my mind, _He's alive, Ranger's alive!'_ I wasn't entirely sure how it was possible, the fresh grief was still so raw, so consuming, but the strength in his arms was no illusion and I sobbed against hum.

I sobbed like everything I had ever loved had been taken away from me, like every dream I had ever had had been quashed and destroyed. Ranger rocked me back and forth, back and forth, holding me through the rivulet of tears.

'Babe?' Ranger asked eventually, 'are you ok?' I nodded against him, holding him to me tightly.

'It was different.' Ranger said tightly, 'I couldn't get it to stop, and I couldn't wake you up either.'

I nodded again. 'I know.' I managed to say through my tears. 'I could hear you, but it just got incorporated into the nightmare.'

Rangers arms were holding me so close I was beginning to wonder where he started and where I finished.

'How did it end?' He asked.

'You –' I started to tell him, but the thought of it brought back the torment all over again, and fresh tears spilled down my pale cheeks.

'Shhh Babe. It's ok, whatever it was, it's ok now.'

I nodded and tried to regain control of myself.

'Junkman killed you.' I finally managed to say, 'It was so real, so vivid…your eyes-' New tears sprung from my eyes, and I just couldn't get them to stop.

'Oh Babe.' Ranger took a shuddering breath, 'It's ok - _I'm _ok. I'm alive. Everything's ok. Junkman's dead.'

Ranger gently disentangled my fists from his shirt, then he quickly tugged off his shirt.

He held my hand, brining it up to his chest, laying it across his muscular chest. I could feel the solid beat of his heart vibrate through his body.

Ranger was alive.

Slowly the reality of that began to penetrate my heartache, easing something inside of me. I laid my head on his chest, listening to the pounding of his strong heart.

Ranger was alive.

And I knew - as I listened to the rhythm of his heart, with the memory of my anguish still fresh in my mind - that I would do anything to keep him that way.


	15. bow ties!

_let me know what you think! _

Chapter 16

I could hear Ranger and Katrina arguing in the other room. Day 14 in the psycho hunt and nerves were fraying. It was Annelise's 25th birthday – one of Katrina's best friends – and Katrina had arranged a big party at the house. Complete with hundreds of guests.

Ranger was not happy. Hundreds of guests meant hundreds of opportunities for the stalker _impressionists_ to get in.

Unfortunately, Annelise was fairly high up in the modelling world, and if Katrina hosted the party it would do wonders for her career. So, with gritted teeth and raised chin, Katrina argued for her right to party.

Eventually Ranger had to concede but I could tell he was unhappy with the situation. He insisted that all the guests would have to produce invitations and subject themselves to walking through a metal detector.

Katrina drew the line at everyone having to be frisked.

I don't know why she's complaining; probably most of the women guests would love to have Ranger frisking them, and as it was a fashion industry party, probably more than half the men too…

Suddenly I didn't want the frisking to occur either. Ranger's mine dammit, he's only allowed to frisk me!

Not that Ranger and I have been doing that much 'frisking' anyway. He's stubbornly holding to his 'no sex until you're 100 ok' thing. I've tried to explain that I've never really been '100 ok'; I think it was all the flying attempts when I was little - I must have hit my head one too many times - or maybe the flying incidents just prove that I've _never _been ok.

Ranger just flashed me 100 watts and told me that there was a difference between being ok and being normal. And he'd never insult me by calling me normal.

'Are you calling me weird?' I had asked indignantly, fighting the urge to smile.

'No.' Ranger had replied, his lips curving up in a slow sexy smile that made me stomach burn, 'I'm calling you special. Individual. Unique.' His voice dropped to a silky whisper, 'Gorgeous.' He kissed my neck lightly and I tilted my head involuntarily, giving him easier access to my neck. 'Sexy.' Another kiss. 'Smart.' Kiss. 'Funny.' Kiss. 'Divine.' Kiss. 'Perfect.'

'Ranger.' I had moaned.

'Babe? Babe, are you ok?'

'Ugh?' I said intelligently.

'Anyone home?' Ranger teased.

I pulled my mind back from my vivid flashback enough to send him a Burg glare. 'I had a flashback.' I said defensively.

All traces of humour were wiped from his face and his eyes flashed with concern.

'Not that kind of flashback.' I elaborated hastily.

'Not a Slayer flashback?'

'Nope.'

'Then what kind?' he asked, looking confused.

I felt my face turn incredibly warm, and Lester started to snigger.

'Oh.' Ranger said, struggling not to grin.

Katrina had no such compunction and was laughing her perfect model ass off.

I crossed my arms under my B-cup breasts and tried to change the subject back to the argument: to frisk, or not to frisk. That, apparently, was the question.

'So…frisking huh?' Sometimes my subtlety astounds me.

Lester sniggered louder and Tank shot him a fierce glare and gave him a solid not-quite-playful punch in the shoulder.

I smiled at Tank and he sent me a ghost of a smile and a slight shrug – he's allowed to hit people who are being mean to his 'sister'. My smile widened, and I smirked at Lester who was rubbing his shoulder and muttering under his breath.

'Enough children.' Ranger said firmly. 'Now, Steph's right, we have to sort this out Katrina.' Ooh, he used Trina's full name – he's getting pissed.

Trina's eyes narrowed and she drew herself up to her full height, 'you _cannot_ invite people to a party and frisk them! It's bad enough as it is!'

Ranger's eyes narrowed as well, 'It's not just about you Trina! If Steph's right then you might not even be the target, in fact you probably aren't the target. Do you want to put your family in danger just so you can have your little soiree?'

'That's a low blow Ric, and you know it! I would never willingly put any of you in danger, but you wouldn't let me host the party anywhere else! At least here is 'secure'.'

'It's not secure when you invite a few hundred brainless idiots here!'

'Brainless? Is that what you think of me? That only stupid people are in the fashion industry? Thanks a lot Ric!'

'I didn't mean you!'

Ranger's famous ice cool composure was rapidly slipping away, and he was clearly confused about how an argument about security could get to an argument about his sister's career choice and her intelligence.

Misdirection.

I've used it more than once; just when they're in the middle of the argument, turn them upside down and back to front until they don't know what's happening and suddenly, Bam, everything is their fault. It was one of my favourite tactics with Morelli – admittedly, usually it _was_ Joe's fault, but I made sure it was _always _Joe's fault.

It's a trick Burg women learn early on.

Trina gave an insulted screech and yelled 'I can't deal with you when you're like this!' Then she turned on her heel and stalked out of the room, not quite slamming the door behind her.

'What?' said Ranger. 'What just happened?'

I smirked at him, 'I could go talk to her for you?' I offered.

'Thanks.' Ranger said gratefully, still looking like he had been dropped in the middle of a hurricane when the weather announcer had promised a mild breeze.

I found Trina in the living room with Ranger's stepmom, Maria, and Trina didn't look upset or angry in the slightest. Bingo! Definitely misdirection.

'That was well done.' I complimented Trina. She looked me in the eye, holding my gaze for a full minute before she allowed her lips to curve into a smile, 'Thanks. Marks out of ten?' she asked.

'Nine.' I answered, 'you didn't slam the door forcefully enough.'

'If you slam the door too hard you get cracks in the ceiling.' Trina explained.

'I knew there had to be a good reason why you'd spoil an exit that had such good potential.' I smiled.

Trina sighed suddenly, 'he _is _being unreasonable though.'

'He loves you. All of you. He's trying to keep you safe.'

'I know. But this party is extremely important to me. I've been planning it for nearly six months – this could be a really big deal for me. It's bad enough that I had to change the venue and have a strict invitation policy _and _metal detectors – it's just not the way it's done.'

Suddenly I had a light-bulb moment - bing! An evil smile stole across my face, 'Then make the security part of it.' I suggested.

'Huh?' Trina asked. Maria looked similarly confounded.

'Well, first of all, your friend Annelise is a fairly big star – make out like the security is for her. And as for the frisking…just get Lester, Bobby, Cal and Junior to wear pink latex hot pants – and nothing else – while they frisk people. Make it an entertainment point rather than a rude imposition.'

Trina stared at me, and then a wicked smile appeared. 'I like your style Stephanie, but you're wrong about one thing.'

'Oh?' I asked.

'They need black bow ties as well – it _is _a formal party after all.'


	16. murder on the dance floor

_Ok, I apologise in advance for these, two chapters, but you can't kill me, cos I gave you two, see? -runs away to hide- Let me know what you think!  
_

_Warnings: small smutt, some violence, and yes ANGST._  


Chapter 17

Ranger was pacing, and I was barely containing my laughter. He wasn't nervous exactly, but he obviously wasn't feeling all that excited either.

It was three hours before the big party, and in a few minutes Ranger was going to give the boys their costumes.

When Trina had explained our plan to Ranger, he had nearly burst a gut laughing. But now he was pretty sure that the guys weren't going to find it quite so amusing. Which is why he left it so late to show them their…uh…'frisking uniforms'.

The boys filed in to the office and Ranger took centre stage.

'Ok.' Ranger said, starting the meeting. 'It's 03.00 hours until the party begins at 20.00, Trina reckons that the majority of the guests will arrive approximately half an hour late in order to be deemed fashionably late. Lester, Bobby, Cal and Junior – I need you four to be manning the entrance and to be frisking the guests from 19.30 onwards at the latest. Problems?'

Each man shook his head and Lester, shooting me a smirk, put up his hand in question – taking the piss outta me. Tank elbow jabbed him for his trouble and Lester's smirk faded a little.

'Santos.' Ranger said sharply, 'problem?'

Lester's smirk disappeared entirely and he was all business. 'If the four of us are on door duty, who's guarding the main room?'

'We've drafted in two Rangeman Miami employee's to watch the room on CCTV. We'll also have five other Miami employees being obvious bodyguards – visibly wearing a gun and an earpiece. Tank and Steph will be circulating undercover as guests, and I'm obviously just going to be Katrina's brother. Questions?'

'What guest am I posing as?' I asked Ranger.

'You're going to be introduced by Trina as her small town model friend Stephanie, who's been working in adverts and wants to branch out. You'll go by the surname Plumerri – which it was pre-Ellis Island – but there's less chance someone will recognise you as the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. You'll also be there as my girlfriend. You just need to mingle, giggle, and keep an eye out – reporting to me every half hour.'

I nodded. Easy – it would be just like the social events that Dickie had dragged me too.

Tank set up his alias, and we did a walk through of all our duties. The meeting was wrapping up, and there was only one thing left on the agenda. I started to grin.

Lester glanced at me, noting the smile. 'Uh…what does Steph know that we don't?' Lester asked suspiciously.

I met Lester's eyes and let my smile widen evilly.

'Uh oh.' Lester said, 'I do not like that. This is not good. Ranger, man, you know you're one of my best mates, right?'

Ranger's lips twitched a fraction, 'As you know, Katrina had some initial reservations about having her guests frisked. Steph came up with a solution.'

The four designated friskers cast their gaze my way, all of them looking a mix of alarmed, suspicious, and baleful – and they didn't even know everything yet.

'Relax.' I said, 'you just have different uniforms, that's all.'

Ranger cleared his throat, reached behind him, and handed the four unfortunates the pink scrap of material that was their uniform.

'Shit.' Said Bobby, staring at the latex in his hand.

'Crap.' Said Junior.

Cal said nothing. I'm not even sure if he can speak. But hey, he gives good shade, and according to Ranger he can even spell his name.

It was Lester's reaction that had me swallowing giggles though. 'You have got to be kidding me!' Lester ground out, his expression incredulous. 'There's no way in hell I'm parading around in pink latex pants!'

'Don't be silly Lester.' I said, rolling my eyes. 'That's not all you're wearing.'

'It's not?'

'No.' I said firmly. Then I reached into my pocket and pulled out the black bow ties, handing them out. 'You get a bow tie too.'

I winked at Tank who was struggling not to laugh, and got up to make a quick exit. My wink broke Tank and Ranger's self control and their warm laughter bubbled up, filling the room. Just before I closed the door I heard Lester say, 'Laugh it up you morons. I _will _get even.'

I was biting my lip, trying to hold in my laughter, and I all but ran into the living room.

'How did it go?' Trina asked eagerly.

'They…' I started, but I couldn't finish. I collapsed onto the couch, laughing my ass off. 'Lester's face.' I gasped. 'The bow tie…'

Maria and Trina started to laugh too, everyone else looked kinda bemused. Giggling, Trina explained. The men in the room shuddered as they imagined being subjected to wearing _that_ so close to their fruit and two veg.

'Honey,' said Jack, 'I love you, but not enough to ever wear pink latex.'

'Ditto.' Andy said, still shuddering.

'Nah.' I said, 'you guys get to wear tuxedos.'

'Normally,' said Dom, 'I hate, and object to, wearing tuxedos. But in this case...I'll make an exception.'

'Time to get ready.' Trina said. I nodded in agreement and we got up.

'It's nearly two and a half hours until the party starts!' Andy objected.

Trina and I shared amused glances, shook our heads, and went to our respective rooms to get ready.

I bathed, shaved, exfoliated, dried and moisturised my body, admiring the sleek lines of my body. Toned definitely suited me. I shimmied into a fairly short blue dressed that accentuated my eyes and my ass. It was left over from Dickie's time – and it was D&G. Ranger had told me he would provide jewellery, so I left my neck and ears bare for now.

Studying my reflection, I swept my hair up and tied it up in a fashionable messy bun, letting two silky tendrils of hair run down my neck. I secured the bun with pins and admired the result with a triumphant smile.

For an occasion such as this, full war paint was required. I smoothed the foundation onto my skin, careful to rub it in to my neck and my hairline. Then I carefully applied blusher over the swell of my check bones, highlighting my delicate bone structure. I used lip stain on my lips, burning them a darker red than normal, but nothing too dramatic. I added a layer of clear lip-gloss for shiny goodness. Then I used grey eye shadow to make the blue of my eyes stand out. And finally, the all-important mascara was applied.

I eased on a pair of strappy FMPs and looked into the full-length mirror.

On a good day, I can usually garner a fair bit of attention. This was a _very_ good day.

I left the bathroom and found Ranger in our bedroom. His reaction was gratifying, to say the least.

He gaped. There's no other word for it. And Ranger _doesn't_ gape. But he was.

Like a fish.

Eventually he gathered his wits about him and managed to say, 'Babe…wow.' Not exactly a Shakespeare Sonnet, but from Ranger, it was good enough.

'You like?' I purred.

'Wow.' He repeated. 'Steph, Babe, normally you're gorgeous. Hip deep in garbage, you're still beautiful. But tonight? You're absolutely stunning. Jesus, I have a hard on just looking at you Babe.'

I walked into his arms and brushed my body against his. 'Mmm.' I moaned, 'so you do.'

'Babe.' He choked out, then his hand was on my neck, pulling me in for a hot kiss that got my heart pounding and left me gasping for more.

'Ranger.' I begged.

He took a haggard breath. 'We don't have time Babe, the guests will start arriving soon, and I still need to get ready.'

I nodded, and squelched my inner sigh.

'Here.' Ranger said, handing me a large black velvet jewellery box.

I opened the box slowly, and gasped.

'Diamonds?' I asked.

'In platinum.' He confirmed.

The necklace was probably worth more money than I'd ever had, let alone the earrings as well.

'Ranger…' I started to say, wondering how to explain that it was so much, too much, for me to accept.

'Babe. Do you like them?'

'Yes, they're beautiful, but-'

'If you like them, then there's no but.'

'It's so much Ranger. These must have cost…'

'Babe. Money doesn't matter. People do. You do.' He laid a gentle kiss on my neck, 'please accept it Steph.'

'It's beautiful, truly. I love them. Thank you.' Ranger kissed me again and then carefully secured the necklace around my throat, whilst I adorned myself with the earrings.

'I need to get ready.' Ranger repeated.

I nodded resignedly and started to move away, but Ranger's arms tightened around me. 'Just let me hold you for a minute, Babe.' He whispered.

I sunk back into his embrace.

'Steph?' Ranger asked, a few minutes later.

'Yeah?'

'You know I love you, right?'

I blinked. 'In your own way?'

'Yes.' Ranger said, 'and no.' I felt his heart pounding furiously in his chest, and his dark eyes held mine enraptured, 'I love you Babe. No qualifications. I love you. Just you. The way you are. You, Babe, only and always you.'

My heart was doing double time and it felt so light that I was almost afraid it would burst out of chest. Who would've known it could be possible to be so happy? Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I whispered, 'I love you Ranger. The way you are. You – only and always – you. I love you.'

Ranger's lips curved into a slow sexy smile, and his hot gaze met the fire of my eyes and the heat between us leapt up and consumed us. Our tongue's fought for supremacy as we kissed each other desperately. Ranger's hand went to the back of my dress and started to undo the zip.

'Yes.' I moaned.

Ranger groaned and kissed me again. He began to push the straps of my dress off my shoulders, and then…there was a knock at the door.

'Fuck.' Ranger swore.

'That's what I want to do.' I panted.

Ranger flashed me a wolf grin. 'Me too, Babe.'

Someone knocked on the door again. 'Ric?' said Trina. 'It's fifteen minutes until the guests will arrive. Are you ready yet?'

'No.' Ranger growled, 'go away.'

Trina sniggered, 'sorry Ricardo, am I interrupting?'

'Fuck off.' He answered.

'I'll take that as a yes.' She laughed through the thin door. 'You don't have time to fool around with Stephanie, Ric. Work now, play later.'

'She's right.' Ranger sighed. 'I need to get ready.' He carefully zipped my dress back up again and eased the shoulder straps back in their rightful place. 'Soon.' He promised, his eyes black with desire. 'Soon.' He repeated, giving me a soft kiss. Then he retreated to the bathroom with his tuxedo.

'Shit.' I muttered, trying to calm down. 'Focus on the job.' I told myself. I fixed my make-up, re-applying gloss, and sorted out my hair. With a sigh I removed my ruined panties and replaced them with another pair, straightening my clothes again.

Ranger entered the bedroom and it was my turn to gape. And here was me thinking he looked hot as corporate Ranger. In a tight black Armani tuxedo he looked delectable. And he was all mine.

'Wow.' I whispered. 'Oh wow.'

'You like?' he teased.

'Yum.' I said. Then I glared at him, 'Mine.' I said firmly.

'Yours.' he agreed, 'exclusively. Just like you're mine. That's why I put you as my girlfriend. I knew I wouldn't be able to quell my possessiveness.'

I laughed softly, 'and I definitely wouldn't be able to quell my possessiveness. You look so gorgeous Ranger, so utterly fuckable.'

Ranger blinked in surprise and then he grinned at me, 'right back at ya Babe. Later. I promise.'

My body tingled with longing and anticipation. 'Later.' I agreed.

'Ready?' Ranger asked.

'Nearly. One last thing.'

'What?' he asked.

I leaned forward and gave him a light kiss, 'I love you.' I whispered into his ear. I felt the delicious shiver that ran through him, and felt a surge of power. Oh yeah, he had all the muscle, but I definitely have the power.

'I love you.' He breathed back, and I felt my thoughts lose all coherency. Ok, maybe he had power too.

I stepped into his arms for one last hug before the night began, then I moved reluctantly away. 'Ok,' I said determinedly, 'let's do this.'

Chapter 18

The party itself was being held in the ballroom. 'You have a ballroom?' I'd spluttered to Ranger when he'd told me.

'Yeah.' He'd shrugged, 'doesn't everyone?'

I rolled my eyes and hit him over the head.

The ballroom itself was on the west side of the house, and since I'd been patrolling the east side with Tank, I hadn't explored the west side thoroughly. At first glance this house was a fairly big three floored house, but once you got inside you realised that 'fairly big' didn't quite cover it. I've been living here for nearly three weeks, and I swear there are still more rooms that I haven't found yet.

During the party the vast majority of the house was locked up, leaving only restrooms, the kitchen and the ballroom open. The caterers were rushing through the house, setting up a buffet table in the ballroom. As the clock struck eight, everything was finally ready.

The ballroom was resplendent in tasteful gold and silver decorations, complete with glass chandeliers. And waiters were standing around, balancing trays of glasses of champagne on the pads of their fingertips. I made a mental note not to bump into them.

An hour later and the room was pleasantly full of people – there was still plenty of space to move and breathe and dance, without it looking empty - as if half the guests invited hadn't deigned to turn up.

As expected, the 'yummy scrumpets in pink', as I heard them referred to, were an absolute hit. Lester had long since stopped seeing this as embarrassing, and instead decided that it was an opportunity. So, in between politely, and often suggestively, patting someone down for weapons, he also flexed his muscles and flirted like his life depended on it.

On closer inspection, it appeared that Lester had waxed or shaved his torso, and had buffed up his impressive muscles with some oil. He was working it.

Cal appeared as unselfconscious (read: brain-dead) as always. He didn't even bat an eyelid when it was suggested that he had a pair of socks down his hot pants. He just proved the gentleman wrong…by putting the gentleman's hand down his pants. The guest's eyes widened and he spent the rest of the evening finding excuses to go and talk to Cal again. Cal didn't talk, but the fashion photographer didn't seem to mind – he didn't seem to want to talk either. Either way, Cal continued to uh…man his post?

Junior just acted like he had all his clothes and got on with the job, ignoring stares, whispers and all attempts at flirting with him.

Bobby spent a lot of the night blushing. 'It's unnatural.' He'd whispered to me when I was close enough, 'I'm supposed to chase the women, they're not supposed to chase me!' I'd laughed at his outrage and given him the remainder of my donut. He'd calmed down after that, and he even managed to get a few phone numbers himself.

At eleven I noticed that a stunning blond bitch seemed to be sticking to Ranger rather too much for my liking. It was about time for my half hourly report anyway, so I made my way over to him.

'Hey Babe.' He greeted me, kissing me lightly on the lips.

'Hey.' I purred back, 'come dance.' I pulled him onto the dance floor and just as we reached it the Salsa began.

'Do you know it?' Ranger asked.

I smiled, 'Oh yeah, I know it.'

Ranger smiled and we took the beginning stance. Soon our bodies were rubbing up each other, both of our chests heaving, our eyes locked together, the desire between us obvious. The Salsa is not a good dance for a couple that have been celibate together for several months. Ranger slid his leg between mine and his muscular thigh brushed my panties, with a half swallowed moan I arched my back, bending over back wards, Rangers hands followed my path, stroking slowly from between my breasts to my chin, then his hand curled round my neck and brought me back up, so that our bodies were flush against each other. Ranger let out a low growl, and the dance continued.

We moved together seamlessly, effortlessly. And though we'd only had one night together, we both know the truth that people who dance excellently vertically together, also dance perfectly horizontally. As if he followed my thought, Ranger's eyes darkened, I could feel his body hard against mine, and every tantalising twist and turn pushed the fire between us up a notch.

The dance ended and we struck our final pose, his leg between mine, one of my legs around his waist, his hand cupping my face as if pulling me into a lovers kiss.

'Holy shit Babe.' Ranger whispered.

'Yeah.' I agreed breathlessly.

Reluctantly we parted, and realised with shock that we were alone on the dance floor, and everyone was staring at us.

'Well shit.' I said to him, 'should we take a bow?'

Ranger chuckled slightly and said, 'why not?' – so we did.

Trina came towards us, 'Damn Ricky,' she said smiling, 'you've been holding out on me! I didn't know you could dance like that!'

Ranger smiled slightly, 'there's lots of things you don't know chica.'

Trina rolled her eyes, and I laughed. Ranger and I made our way off the dance floor, 'you think Blond will leave you alone now?' I asked, smirking slightly.

'Hopefully.' Ranger grimaced. Once again, with a kiss, we parted ways, circulating around the party, keeping an eye out. All the guests had arrived, so the pink brigade had locked up the entrance and joined the party. Outwardly, they were just enjoying themselves, but I saw their quick scans of the crowd and the checks on the windows and door that the guests didn't notice.

It was nearing twelve, and I was bored, so I decided to make my report to Ranger a bit early. Everything was going smoothly, and everyone was having a great time. The music was still playing and the drink was still flowing. Unfortunately, being on the job and all, I wasn't allowed to drink, especially as alcohol went right to my head. As I neared Ranger I cast a wistful glance at the nearest waiter with champagne. And like they always say, time slowed.

The waiter had a gun under his tray, I didn't know how the hell he had gotten it through security, but the thought barely registered as the gun swung oh so slowly to point at Ranger.

_God no! In that instant I recalled the nightmare I'd had a couple of weeks ago – Junkman…Ranger – his eyes so lifeless and empty. No!_

_Without conscious thought I was moving forward, facing the gunman, I pushed Ranger out of the way, I barely noticed the sound of the gun as he shot once, twice - thrice. But I noticed the pain. My hands automatically slid down to wear it hurt, and I stared dumbly down at the spot of red appearing on my blue dress. I held my stomach, and I could feel the blood leaving my body at an alarming rate. Looks like it was one of those bullets that made a mess going in, as well as going out._

_I dropped to my knees._

'BABE!'

Real time sprang back like a switch had been flicked. Tank was wrestling the gunman's arms behind his back and I could see Lester and Bobby fighting someone else. Guests were screaming, and crying. And through it all, all I could see was Ranger's eyes and the utter horror in them.

'Lie down.' He instructed to me sharply.

I obeyed. In the end, I always obey him. Love, honour and obey. Funny how that only occurs to me now; that with the right man that vow wouldn't be a trap or a curse, but an honest promise, spoken out of love. Obey. I've always hated the word. But not now, not with Ranger.

His cell was out and he was dialling 911. Ranger almost violently pulled off his suit jacket and ripped off his shirt, using his shirt to staunch the bleeding. There was so much blood. My blood. It was so hard to breathe.

Ranger was rattling off an address, requesting police and an ambulance. I could dimly hear Tank ordering the guests out of the ballroom into the other rooms, keeping them secure, but giving us space – a whole ballroom full of it.

Ranger's family were still there, Trina was crying, blaming herself. And suddenly Lester was there with a first aid kit, trying to bandage the shot would on my thigh. Asking me to bend my leg up to elevate the wound. His hands were calm and steady, and his voice was serious - too serious. Lester would joke about anything…but not if the situation was bad.

Ranger's shirt was already stained red from my blood, and his hands were slick with it. Without a word Tank removed his shirt as well, and Ranger pressed it on top of his shirt. Despite their best efforts, I could feel my legs going numb from lack of blood, and I was feeling cold, so cold.

'Thanks guys.' I managed to say to Lester and Tank, 'can you give us some space?' They both leaned forward and kissed my check before moving away.

'Ranger.' I said shakily.

'No Babe.' He said, his voice thick, 'you're going to be fine.'

'Don't start,' I broke off as I started coughing, I grimaced as I felt the coppery taste of blood fill my mouth, I swallowed and carried on talking, 'lying to me now. Look at me.'

Ranger finally looked up, and I was shocked at the tears standing in his eyes.

I reached up and caressed his cheek. 'You made such a difference to me. You always helped me, put me first, always. Not one time when I asked for help did you turn me down. You were always there for me, to support me,' I started to cough again, 'to love me.'

'Babe.' He whispered, his voice hoarse and pleading, 'please. You'll be ok. Don't–'

'Shh. Whatever happens will happen, but I want to do this. I want you to know–'

'I know Babe, I know.'

'I need to do this.'

Ranger nodded once, a tear streaking down his cheek. 'Tank! Get over here and staunch the blood flow while I talk to Stephanie.' His voice cracked, and he swallowed hard. Tank's hands took over the job of keeping the blood Stephanie's blood _inside_ Stephanie, whilst Ranger's shaking and blood covered hands stroked through my hair.

It didn't mind the blood on his hands, I barely noticed it, but it was _my _blood after all, so it would be silly to be squeamish. It relaxed me, having him touch me so comfortingly, so familiarly. I could close my eyes and almost imagine we were black in my apartment, lying on my couch together, listening to music and talking softly of life, the universe, and everything.

'Steph! Please, Querida, open your eyes!'

I tried to force them open – how could I refuse him anything? It was a struggle to open my eyes, and right this minute I would put my hand on the bible and swear black and blue that somehow my eyelids weighed more than a grand piano.

Eventually I pried my eyes open and met Ranger's chocolate eyes.

'Sorry.' I managed, ''ts hard.'

'I know Baby.' Ranger took a deep shuddering breath, and his hand stroked my cheek. 'Even when I first met you,' he paused, a tear sliding down his cheek, 'you brightened up my day.' He continued, choking out the words. 'Sometimes it was just a smile, or sometimes you blew up a car, or sometimes you were chained naked to a shower rail…'

I smiled at that and gave a half laugh, which turned into a choking cough.

'But always, you made life that bit more worthwhile. And I began to break into your apartment, just so I could watch you sleep, hear you breathe – know that you were ok.' He paused, rubbing angrily at the tears in his eyes. 'No matter what shit life was throwing at you, you just got up and kept going. Your cars been vandalised? Ah well. Exploded? Hey, where are the marshmallows? You find a dead body? Get rid of your death-cootie-couch and bake cookies. And only you would keep a gun in a brown bear cookie jar!'

'Hey!' I protested softly, 'Rockford does it too! I'm tough like Rockford…'

Ranger gave a strangled sob and the tears started running down his cheek, unchecked. 'Yeah Baby, you're tough like Rockford.'

'I don't feel so tough.' I admitted shakily. 'I'm scared, Ranger.'

'You don't need to be scared. Everything's going to be ok. You're going to be fine.'

'I never went to church a whole lot, and I killed people, do you think I'll go to hell?'

Ranger shook his head firmly, 'No Babe, that was self-defence. You of all people will go to heaven. You're an angel, you're just going back where you belong.'

'Will you go to heaven? I want to go where you go.' I whispered.

'I don't know Babe – I've killed too.'

'If you're going to hell, than that's where I'll go too. I've never liked harps anyway.'

'I'm not sure you get a choice Babe, where God puts you is where you go.'

'Well if God forces me to go to heaven when I want to go to hell then I'll start a revolution…or maybe just a petition. A petition will probably be easier don't you think?'

'Yeah Babe, a petition would be easier. But you don't need to worry about that stuff, not yet.'

'Ranger.' I breathed, and then I started coughing again and blood welled up in my mouth.

'Look after Rex,' I pleaded. 'Tell mom I'm sorry that I could never go work at the button factory. Tell dad to turn the TV down, and Tell Grandma to behave herself. Tell Valerie that sometimes perfection isn't everything. Tell Joe that he was a great friend to me, no matter what. Tell Eddie to lay off the donuts, and take Dillon some beer. Tell Mary Lou 'yes'.'

'You can do all that Babe.' Ranger said, sounding desperate, 'you can do all that when you're better.'

'I love you Ranger. I'm sorry I wasted so much time when we could have been together. I love you so much. But I wish-' I cut off as I started to cough again.

'What do you wish baby?'

'I wish that we had more sex.' I whispered.

Ranger gave a half laugh half sob and kissed me on my lips. 'I promise lots of sex when you're better. We'll go away to Barbados or Aruba, or the Antarctic, wherever you want, and we'll stay there for at least a month, just you and me and lots of sex, ok?'

''t sound good.' I managed. 'don't blame yoursel''

'Those bullets were meant for me!' Ranger almost yelled. 'It's my fault!'

'My choice to…take them. My choice, Ranger.' My eyelids were so heavy and they started to fall.

'I love you baby, I love you so much. Please, Stephanie.'

'I…love…you.'

'Don't leave me Steph! Don't go! I love you! Please!'

I tried not to, but my eyes were so heavy, and I was so cold, so tired, and the sounds of the sirens in the distance were lulling me to sleep.

My eyelids slid shut.


	17. The Waiting Game

_You all amuse me! I'm glad you liked/hated the last chapter, lol, and you'll have to read on to see whether it's Stephs last days... Let me know what you think, as always. _  


Chapter 19

_Ranger's POV_

I felt panic well up inside of me as her eyes closed. 'Babe?' I said. She didn't reply and her eyes didn't flutter open. The panic increased and I felt for a pulse with shaking fingers. Faint and erratic, but her pulse throbbed under my fingers. Relief washed over me, but only temporarily.

'Where the fuck is the ambulance?' I snarled.

'It's here Ranger.' Tank said softly, 'Junior's just letting them in now.'

I didn't reply, I just looked at my Babe and willed her to open her gorgeous eyes and look up at me.

'Ranger, man, you need to move. Let the guys do their job.' Tank instructed. I blinked in surprise as I realised that the paramedics were here, and that I hadn't heard a word they had said to me. I held my Babe's hand but moved away enough that they could attend to her.

'How many shots?' One of them asked Tank.

'Three.'

The paramedics nodded and examined her injuries quickly.

'Her thigh's been shot but it's well bandaged – however, there's no sign of an exit wound. The bullets still in there.' One of them said.

'One bullet hit and broke her rib, it looks like the rib has punctured her left lung and it's filling up with blood.' The other said. 'She's been shot in the intestines and she's lost a lot of blood but it doesn't look like her stomach's ruptured.'

'Sir? Do you know her blood type?'

'No.' said Tank.

'It's AB positive.' I said softly.

The medics nodded and started tending to Steph, seeming to jabber away in a foreign language. After what felt like a millennia they carefully lifted her onto a stretcher and carried her out to the ambulance. I held her hand the whole way, and they didn't question me as I sat in the back with her.

The drive to the hospital felt like one second and, at the same time, it felt like one year. Every time the ambulance slowed I felt like screaming or crying, or perhaps both. But I did neither, and I held it together as I held her hand.

They rushed her into the emergency operating room, and they told me I had to go.

'No!' I protested, 'I can't leave her…'

'Sir, you'll only be in the way. You can wait in the hall. Sir?'

Reluctantly I kissed the back of Steph's hand – silently pleading for her to be ok.

I slumped down into a chair in the hall. I put my head in my hands and began to do one of the things I hate worse than anything. I waited.

And I waited.

And I waited.

The clock on the wall ticked and tocked, each second dragged agonisingly by, and the chiming echoed ominously in the sterile hall.

Eventually I lifted my head from my hands and was shocked as I realised that everyone was here. My family sat either side of me, and Tank and Lester were positioned at the corridor's entrance, protecting my back. Just like Steph had been.

I pushed that thought away and tried to think of something else, anything else.

'I should do the admittance papers.' I said shakily.

'I've already done them, man.' Said Tank.

'Oh God. I need to phone her family. What do I say?'

'I've already called them Ranger. I put them on the Rangeman plane. They'll be here soon.' Tank said, watching me warily.

How could they be here soon? The flights weren't instantaneous.

Tank met my eyes, looking worried, 'Ranger. You've been here for two and a half hours already.'

What? 'Then why haven't we heard anything?' I yelled at Tank.

'She's still in surgery man. There's nothing you can do now.'

Nothing but wait.

And I did.

I waited.

And I waited.

Three hours.

Three and a half.

I haven't prayed since before my mother died, but as the seconds passed I dropped to my knees, bowed my head over clasped hands, and I pleaded with God to keep her alive.

Anything you ask of me, Lord, and I will do it. Anything. I'll go to Church. I'll give to charity. I would give away all my wealth, all my material possessions, I would give away my life – just let her live.

_I would give her flowers everyday, and buy her Boston Creams. I would make her happy. No matter what it took, anything to see her smile. To hear her laugh._

I know she is yours to call away, but she is all I have and all I need. She is my heart, my soul. Everything.

_Please don't take her from me. _

Over and over I prayed, begging for Stephanie to live. With one last plea, I got up. It was nearly five AM, and her family had arrived during my prayers.

Not just her mom and her dad, not just her sister and her sister's family, not just her Grandma, but Steph's entire family. Lula was there, hugging a distraught Mary Lou. Joe was there, sitting next to Eddie and Connie.

I realised abruptly that my chest was bare, and I was covered in Steph's blood. For once though, Lula and Connie weren't ogling at me, but staring solemnly at the emergency operation door.

Frank was sitting next to me, so I gathered all my courage, and turned to face him. I tried to say something, anything. But the words wouldn't come.

Frank scanned my face, reading the words I wanted to say.

'It's not your fault, son.' Frank said gruffly. 'Steph's always done what she wanted, consequences be damned. She chose to save you. She told me…' he paused and took a deep breath, 'she told me she loved you. I asked her how much she loved you. And she said that-' his voice cracked, 'that she would die for you. I said I hoped you were worthy of that love. I know now, that you are. You're a good man Ric, there's no blame here.'

'She told me…to tell you…to turn the TV down.'

Frank let a bark of laughter escape, 'Yeah, that's my girl.'

One by one I told them the messages that Steph wanted me to tell them.

'What about me?' Asked Mary Lou.

'Yes.'

'What?'

'She said to tell you, 'yes'.'

'Oh.' said Mary Lou, and then she started to cry. 'I asked her,' Mary Lou sobbed, 'Before she went to Miami, I asked if she could have seen her future when she was twenty, would she do it all again? All the pyscho's, all the fires, all the explosions, all the kidnappings. Would she live it all again if she had a choice? And she would. She wouldn't change a damn thing.'

'What about Lula?' asked Valerie, 'didn't she have a message for Lula?'

'Me and Connie already got our marching orders.' Lula said proudly. 'Skinny ass white girl left us instructions.'

No one asked what the instructions were – I'm not sure I want to know.

Reluctantly, I turned to Morelli. 'She said you were a great friend to her and you should never doubt that.' I forced myself to meet his eyes, ready to see a blazing rage in them.

He had told me, that night when we had had our man-to-man talk, that if I hurt Stephanie, he would see to it that I sang soprano – cop or no cop.

But there was no anger in Morelli's eyes, no condemnation. I must have looked surprised, because Joe's lips twisted in a wry smile, 'you didn't hurt her Manoso. Mr Plum's correct, sometimes you just can't stop Steph.'

The room nodded in agreement, and silence descended upon us again, each of us in our own thoughts and prayers, begging for Stephanie Plum to be alright.

It was six AM before a doctor stepped out into the hall.

He glanced around at the masses before settling on Frank, 'I need to talk to Miss Plum's family.'

'We're all her family.' Said Frank firmly, including my family in his gesture.

'Sir…' The doctor protested.

'Whatever you have to say, you can say it to us all.'

I barely noticed that I was gripping Franks arm.

'Miss Plum's condition is critical, but stable.'

'What the fuck's that supposed to mean?' Lula asked.

'It means that she is unconscious, and she's lost a lot of blood. Miss Plum has sustained serious injury, but, with the correct treatment, there is no reason why she shouldn't make a full recovery. She's on a drip at the moment, but she should come around in the next forty-eight hours.'

'Thank you.' Frank said, the doctor nodded and made his leave, obviously fatigued after so many hours in surgery.

'She's going to be ok.' Morelli said.

'Course she is.' I said, 'I knew that.'

A ghost of a smile flickered over Morelli's relieved face, 'yeah, me too.' Abruptly the smile disappeared and a small tear leaked out of Morelli's eye. Without thinking, I pulled the other man into a rough hug.

After a minute I stepped back, 'We're not ever going to mention this ever again, right Joe?' I said, addressing Morelli by his forename for the first time.

'Not on your life, Ranger.' Joe agreed, foregoing the usual 'Manoso.'

'That was real nice - you boys hugging, I mean.' Said Grandma Mazur, 'that'll fuel my fantasies for months!'

* * *

_A/N Oh come on! I'm a **BABE! **When am I ever going to kill Steph? I need her so her and Ranger can live HEA! Hope you liked it! next chapter of something soon._


	18. Wakey wakey rise andFiji?

_So this is it. The End of Sleepless In Trenton, complete with Epilogue, it's been a long journey, I hope you've all enjoyed it. Thanks for my many reviews, each one has really made my day, honestly._  


Chapter 20

I hurt. I want to ignore it, to move on, but it's hard to ignore.

But if I hurt, I'm alive, surely? Unless I'm in hell?

But I couldn't be in hell, because on the periphery of my senses I could feel Ranger. He was with me. So I couldn't be in Hell. A sense of urgency filled me, I'd wasted so much time not being with Ranger, I wasn't going to waste any more.

With a strength of will that surprised me, I set about the task of opening my eyelids. Who knew eyelids could be so heavy?

I don't know how long I fought, but when I finally wrenched my eyes open I felt exhausted. My tired eyes struggled to re-adjust to the dim light of the room, but eventually I made out a figure next to my bed.

'Rang-' I managed to croak out, and the figure next to me stirred and turned to me.

'Babe.' He whispered quietly, almost unbelievingly.

I smiled.

Ranger leaned over and stoked the hair out of my face, all the while maintaining eye contact with me. 'Hey.' Ranger said, 'about time you woke up, angel.' He said it lightly, but I could hear the hours of worry underlying in his voice – and the exhaustion.

I reached up and stroked his face, grimacing as I saw the wires protruding from my skin.

'Do you want some water?' He asked softly.

I nodded, still not trusting my voice to my sore throat.

Ranger handed me a cup of water with a straw in it, and I began to suck up the precious moisture.

'Easy Babe, take it slow.'

I nodded again and sipped at the water instead of gulping it.

Ranger set the cup back down when I was done, 'I'll call a nurse.' He said.

'No.' I said, 'I want to be alone with you for a minute.'

Ranger smiled, and a sexy gleam entered his eye, 'trust me Babe, you're going to get plenty of alone time with me. Barbados or Aruba, or the Antarctic, wherever you want, and we'll stay there for at least a month, just you and me – that was the deal.'

'You missed out the lots of sex part.' I complained.

Ranger's smile widened, 'that's because it goes without saying Babe.' Abruptly his smile faded and despite his blank face, to me, he looked distraught, 'I don't know what I would have done Babe, if you had left me…'

'I'll never willingly leave you.' I said softly, just as serious. 'I love you Ranger.'

His liquid brown eyes met mine, 'I love you Babe, more than anything.'

'Good.' I smiled. 'Will you marry me?'

Ranger stared.

'Well?' I said, still smiling, enjoying his shock, knowing his answer.

'Yes Babe,' he whispered hoarsely, 'I'll marry you.' And then he leaned down and kissed me with tenderness and fire until I thought my heart would burst from happiness and my body would explode through frustration.

'Ranger?' I said, as he drew back.

'Babe?'

'This celibacy crap is a pile of shit and if you ever suggest this again I'm going to run after you with a pitchfork.'

Ranger burst out laughing, 'Oh god Babe, you never disappoint.'

* * *

_**SMUT WARNING**_

Epilogue

I was antsy.

There was no other word for it. I wasn't bored, I wasn't frustrated; I was antsy.

My days were filled with physiotherapy and a noticeable lack of sex. It had been three months since _the incident_ as everyone seemed to prefer to call it, and I was pretty close to recovery. At least that's what I argued; my physiotherapist still wouldn't let me 'resume sexual activity'.

If she had known the truth she wouldn't have felt the need to add the 'resume' in front of it.

I had demanded the contraceptive injection about a month ago in anticipation for some 'resumption' but resumption hadn't come, and neither had I.

I was ready to chew off Ranger's arm, or maybe some other body part if he refused to have sex with me one more time. Apparently, there are some rules that Ranger thinks should be kept to. I keep pointing out that my therapist just wants him for herself and that she's trying to make him so frustrated he'll boff her.

Ranger just smiles and kisses me on my head likes he's humouring me.

But today's the day. I'm sure of it. Which is why I'm sitting in Miss Evil Plan's office, with Ranger's hand reassuringly on my thigh, while I threaten God with atheism if he doesn't let me have sex.

Miss E.P enters her domain like a dragon enters her cave, nostrils flaring at the scent of intruders. She sat behind her desk and flicked through some notes, making umming and ahhing noises. Finally she looks up and smiles at me, 'Good news Miss Plum, you've been cleared for resumption of strenuous physical activity which means-'

'Oh thank God!' I exploded. 'Ranger, if you deny me sex now I swear I'll make you sing soprano.'

He smiled, 'Babe, my voice has already broken, cutting off my nads won't change the pitch.'

I narrowed my eyes at him, 'I could always try it, just to see what happens; scientific curiosity.'

His smile widened, 'You know how it turns me on when you threaten to mutilate me Babe.'

'I'm frustrated, I'm stressed, and I'm horny. Do something about it. Now.' I demanded with a growl.

He pulled me onto his lap easily, looking hotly into my eyes before he lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me. I was like a person possessed, starved, I craved him like others needed nicotine or caffeine; he was my drug of choice, and I needed a hit NOW.

I moaned hopelessly into his mouth and moved my hips so that I rubbed against his firm erection.

I vaguely heard the door open, and Tank's amused voice told the doctor the he assumed we were cleared for sexual activity. The Dragon doctor made affirmative noises, and then it felt like something pinched my upper arm. I drew back to complain and saw Ranger rubbing his arm too.

'Tank.' He growled furiously, 'what have you done?'

Tank put a cover back on the syringe, 'you'll thank me later, man. Sleep well.'

I started to demand an explanation when the world went woozy and the lights went out without the use of a switch.

I awoke with the feel of Ranger stroking my hair, 'Mmm.' I said, prying my eyes open.

'Yo.' Ranger said, smiling.

'Yo yourself,' I yawned. And then I froze.

I sat up, all traces of tiredness gone, 'where the fuck are we?'

'Fiji.' Ranger grinned.

We were on a beach with sand so pure I was half sure it had to be an illusion or a mirage or something. We were lying on a big beach blanket with a huge umbrella giving us some shade in the early morning sun.

I twisted round and noted the beautiful hut behind us, as well as numerous palm tress, besides that, we appeared to be alone.

'Proud of you.' Ranger whispered into my ear, making my skin tingle.

I turned back to him, 'oh yeah? And why's that?'

'You're being aware.' He whispered again. His breath teased my ear, and I shivered involuntarily. His tongue reached out and gently drew a long lick along the shell of my ear.

I made an, 'Mmm,' noise in the back of my throat and he drew back with a smile, gazing down my body. 'Bit overdressed for the beach Babe.' He pointed out, smiling. And then he gently reached down and started to remedy that terrible oversight.

He eased my trousers off my body, which was definitely beginning to get overheated now - but that had nothing to do with the sun, and everything to do with the overwhelming anticipation as I was feeling.

I helped him out by removing my t-shirt, leaving me in a matching blue string bikini set.

I definitely wasn't wearing that earlier.

Ranger chuckled at my expression, 'Mary Lou dressed you.' He explained.

'And how do you know that?' I asked.

'The boys left a note to explain…and Lula definitely didn't pick it out.'

'Not a hint of spandex or sequins.' I agreed smiling. 'And what are you wearing underneath your clothes?'

Ranger smiled, 'it's one of those things you should find out for yourself.'

I laughed, and reached for him, a mischievous smile dancing across my face. He helped me remove his painted on t-shirt, but left me to attack his trousers by myself.

I couldn't stop my moan as I tugged his sweat pants down and revealed a body that was all muscley mocha manly perfection.

I groaned throatily as I stared down at him wearing nothing but his skin and a full erection. I soaked up the sight of him; lying on a blanket, surrounded by seemingly endless miles of gleaming sand, with his hair lose around his face, naked and gorgeous. Mine.

His eyes darkened and I realised I had spoken aloud when he replied with a growling, 'Mine.'

His arms pulled me down to him, and I straddled his washboard stomach before I leaned down and began to kiss him again.

My tongue slipped into the warmth of his mouth and I lost the control I'd been clinging too with all my strength. I started to kiss him with a desperate need I couldn't stop even if I had wanted to. He met my needy kisses, kiss for kiss, and his hands were running up and down my body, as if to burn the feel of my soft flesh forever into his memory.

I groaned into his mouth again, and I couldn't stop as my hips began to rock involuntarily against his abdomen. His hand reached out and grabbed my bikini bottoms, ripping them off me, and I gasped as I felt my skin meet his. Ranger groaned gutturally as he felt the evidence of my arousal against his skin.

'So wet.' He moaned in between kisses.

'Need you.' I managed to reply.

His hand reached down to part my lips and I lifted my hips off of him to give him easier access; his fingers quickly sought my entrance, plunging deep inside me, making me arch back and cry out his name in eagerness.

I almost wept as he withdrew his thick fingers out of me, but a moment later I moaned my approval as his wet fingers rubbed against my hard clit. 'Yes.' I gasped as he touched me firmly, rubbing in firm frantic circles that had the heat broiling in my belly in seconds.

He kept up his delicious movements and I began to whimper and writhe as I felt the delectable tightening begin.

'Ranger!' I cried out as lights exploded behind my eyes, and I came with a furious orgasm that wracked along the length of my body and made me scream at the strength of it.

I came back down to my body and I realised that I was collapsed over Ranger. He was stroking my body, easing the uncontrollable shudders from my body. He kissed my cheek, 'ok?' he asked.

I nuzzled my head into his neck, kissing him lightly there, 'Oh yeah.' I affirmed. I kissed my way from his shoulder to his ear and whispered, 'I love you.'

His arms tightened around me, 'I love you Babe.'

I smiled against his neck, and continued to kiss and lick him gently until I made my way to his lips. I pulled back before he could deepen the kiss and he groaned.

I smiled into his eyes, 'something you wanted?' I asked teasingly.

His eyes were black, 'You.' He demanded.

Fire burned in my veins and I kissed him deeply, caressing his tongue with my own as we battled for possession for his mouth. His teeth scraped lightly along my tongue with his teeth and I moaned gutturally. Eventually I drew back, panting for breath. I met his desire soaked eyes with my own and I saw the exact moment where something inside of him snapped.

With a smooth move executed with precision, I found myself neatly pinned under him, my hands above my head, trapped under his firm grip.

'I nearly lost you.' He growled.

I opened my mouth to reply, and instantly he was on me like a starving man on a buffet. He tasted every curve and ridge in my mouth, hungrily consuming me. I moaned helplessly and writhed against his firm body that was holding me down.

Eventually he drew back and met my gaze. I swallowed hard as I saw a spark of cunning through all that animal desire. He was a man on a mission. And I was it.

My brain was hazy with lust, and I swear that's the only reason I didn't notice as he manoeuvred me closer to the sun umbrella. Normally, I'm aware of my surroundings, but having a naked sex god on top of you tends to screw with your awareness levels, right now all I was aware of was skin against skin. Abruptly I became aware of something else, as I heard a click and felt something fuzzy around my wrists. I groaned low in my throat as I realised that Ranger had cuffed my hands to the umbrella stand with a set of black fur lined cuffs.

'A note wasn't all the boys left.' Ranger whispered deliciously into my ear. A shiver ran through me as his breath tingled on sensitive skin. Ranger rocked back onto his heels and drew his gaze down my body, branding me with his eyes.

'You're so fucking sexy Steph.' He said hotly. 'You have no idea what it does to me, to see you like this, to know that you're mine, hopelessly mine.'

I felt his words trigger a swell of wetness between my legs, and I gasped low in my throat. I arched my body, silently begging to be touched. My thoughts were incoherent, lost in a rush of lust, 'Please.' I managed.

He sent me the wolf smile and I knew I was in serious trouble – the kind of trouble a girl enjoys until she screams herself hoarse.

In many ways Ranger knew me better than Joe, and one of them was that on our single night together he had discovered that I rather enjoy being dominated, which was fine by him, cos he loves to dominate me. He had that look in his eye - beyond possessiveness; it wasn't that I was a favourite toy that he owned, it was like I was his arm, a part of him, irrefutably belonging to him - to use as he willed. I moaned and he knew I was ready, knew I was wanting.

He was on me in an instant, pushing my body into the blanket. His kiss was savage, his tongue plunging into my mouth as I moaned and longed to touch him. His hands cupped and massaged my breasts and then roughly pinched the nipples until I groaned deeply at the perfect pain/pleasure feeling. He ground his cock against my clit and I gasped again.

'I'm going to go down on you,' he growled, 'suck the juices of your tight little pussy whether you want it or not.'

I felt his words right down to my core, and I knew that my juices were slowly leaking out of my body.

'Yes.' I said hoarsely.

He licked his way down my body, licking across my tight and trembling abdomen muscles, creeping to my bellybutton, sucking, licking, and possessing me. It was sweet heaven and tortuous hell, and all I wanted. The instant his tongue touched my clit my hips arched off the blanket, unable to stop their desperate grinding. He pressed his tongue hard against the tight nub of nerves and I couldn't hold back my gasp. He licked down to my wet pussy and growled low in his throat as he tasted my intense arousal.

'You want this.' He snarled.

Before I could form a reply, let alone pant it out, his tongue was back at my clit, licking me firmly. He slid two thick fingers into my pussy and my hips arched up in pleasure. His fingers fucked my pussy as his tongue lapped at my clit. He sucked lightly and rhythmically on my clit for long agonisingly perfect minutes as I arched towards the ecstasy of the cusp. I threw my head back as the heat broiling in my stomach intensified and rippled. I was so close…and he stopped.

'Beg for it.' He commanded.

'Please.' I managed.

'You're asking. I told you to beg.'

I was close to tears at the thought of not getting my orgasm, being denied my desperately needed release, 'Please, please Ranger.' I moaned desperately, 'Please. Please Master.' The instant the M word left my lips, Ranger was on me again. His tongue hot and rough on my clit as he pushed me over to give me everything I needed in that moment.

My body shuddered and cried out through the intense orgasm, strengthened by Ranger's continuous suction on my clit. As my body arched, my arms pulled down on my restraints, and I knew that I belonged to him, as did my orgasm.

By the time I came back down Ranger was positioned between my legs, his hard cock at my wet and trembling entrance.

The instant the glaze left my eyes Ranger pushed into me with one firm thrust. My pussy was so sensitive after my orgasm that I cried out as he stretched me. It was pure delectable torture.

He rammed into my craving and flinching body, pushing the boundaries between pleasure and pain, mixing and moving them until neither existed, nothing existed but the moment.

His fingers rubbed my sensitive clit roughly and I knew he was as close to the edge as I was.

His firm strokes sped up and I writhed around him as he split me in half. Our bodies slapped against each other, slick with sweat, desperate with need.

He bit down on my neck as he came in hot spurts against my walls, and both sensations triggered my own thunderous release until I moaned his name over and over.

When my heart rate had settled enough for me to determine I wasn't going to die, I opened my eyes. Ranger had un-cuffed my hands whilst I was in my very own zone, and now he lay next to me.

I laid my head on his still labouring chest and his arms wrapped around me and held me close.

'God.' I finally said.

He flashed me a cocky grin, 'Master will suffice for now.'

Oh boy.

* * *

Our almost-honeymoon in Fiji had been amazing, mostly being dominated by, but not restricted to, amazing and varied sex. But that wasn't all it was, at times Ranger would surprise me by just stroking my hair or touching my face at random intervals. I could tell it was in those moments he was remembering that he had very nearly lost me. It was only in the second week of our time together that I pointed out he was being a little more sappy than I would have expected him to be. 

He turned to me, all serious and shrugged, 'of course.'

I raised an eyebrow in question and he grinned. 'SAP Babe – Standard Affectionate Procedure.' I mock hit him and tackled him to the floor, and that led to round two of that day.

Even now at the end of our month together I'm still coming to terms with how much closer we have grown. After all those days together, in my flat, in Miami, I would have sworn we couldn't be more in Love. Just goes to show, nothing like a little close encounter with Death to spice up your love lives. Not only did it help my love life, it's also helped with my nightmares. Ever since my brush with death they've completely gone, guess you really do fear the unknown, and once you've kinda faced it, well, you're stronger for it.

I don't fear sleep anymore, once again it's returned to being my refuge and hobby. Life is good. My eyes are wide open; looking to the future with the man I love.


End file.
